Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents
by Thyra10
Summary: Sookie has to celebrate Christmas in freezing cold Scandinavia. Will Eric keep her warm? Will she let him? AH AU OOC. This story won the Naughty or Nice contest. Edit: Continuing the story. How will they manage with an ocean between them? Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents **

**Naughty or Nice Contest**

**Title: **Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents

**Your Pen name: **Thyra10

**Beta'd by: **The amazingRascalthemutant

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything else from the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Charlaine Harris does. I just took them home with me for Christmas.

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck."

I usually didn`t use that kind of language, but I felt entitled to mumble it while hammering on my computer keyboard. I had been a fool of gigantic proportions and now the prize was no vacant seats on the planes going home – and me having to celebrate Christmas in this butt-freezing country.

Who would voluntarily live in a country with temperatures that would make the snot in your nose freeze every time you drew a breath?

My mouth and brain were full of words that would make Gran turn in her grave and should have made me blush. Instead I flushed from anger. My face could produce many shades of red and now I was sure it was the deepest tone it could muster.

I was wrong. When I had a warm hand on my shoulder and a deep voice in my ear, my internal face-painters found some buckets of purple.

I had noticed him when I entered the café. He was tall, blond and handsome and was one of the only positive sides this freezing cold country had. The men. Not that I was staring, but a girl has eyes, right? Even an angry… no, devastated girl.

Yes, I had seen him, but I wasn`t interested in pursuing anything. I just wanted to find a seat on an airplane home. NOW. Furthermore he was way too young for me.

"What`s wrong?" he asked in that charming accent they have here.

I melted just a little bit, but then I huffed. This was not the time for me to be charmed by some youngster.

"Why do you ask?" I said, trying to dismiss him. I wanted my own personal space and he was invading.

"I felt sorry for your keyboard. Those sweet little letters seem so innocent and yet you punish them for something. What have they done to you?"

I stared at him. I realized he was trying to be funny and somewhere inside me I wanted to smile. I just couldn`t.

"I want to go home and the planes are full." I was surprised. Why had I answered his question?

"And home is…?"

"Louisiana." I looked at him. "USA," I continued.

"I know where Louisiana is. I`ve been there."

I couldn`t help smiling a little. "Really? Where?"

"New Orleans. It was before Katrina and it was really amazing. I cried when I saw the news about the hurricane. It was so sad."

Without me really noticing, he sat down at my table.

"Yes, it was." I answered.

"And now you want to go home?" When I nodded, he continued. "Why are you here in the first place?"

That question made me huff and sad images came rolling through my brain. Before I could stop myself, tears flowed to my eyes. I didn`t want to cry in front of a stranger. I just wanted to crawl into a little hole and stay there until the world had turned into a better place. Which would be as soon as the earth had decided to swallow Bill and make me forget he ever existed.

If I could travel back in time, I would have traveled to the moment Bill and I met each other and I convinced myself of turning in the other direction. Or maybe to when Mr. and Mrs. Compton were young so I could have taught them the joys of life without kids.

I looked up and met some very blue and very worried eyes.

"I`m sorry," I whispered. "I don`t want to trouble you with my problems." I looked over at his table as if I could will him to go back to it.

He smiled. "What kind of person would I be if I didn`t help out when I saw someone in trouble?"

I looked at him. "A normal person?" I looked away to make it seem less like an insult.

He laughed. It was a nice laughter. Carefree and gentle. "I suppose so."

I felt his eyes on me and when I looked back, he gave me a little smile as to encourage me to say something.

I sighed. It was as if something inside me burst and everything poured out. I had to work hard to keep my composure, but I couldn`t keep my mouth shut.

"My husband lives and works here and I was to visit him for Christmas. However I came a day too early and surprised him in bed with his mistress. Now I just want to go home." My hand flew up to stop my mouth from ranting and I felt my eyes fill up again. "I`m sorry. This is not your concern."

I started gathering my suitcase and purse, but was stopped by a long arm over the table.

"Sit down," a voice much more sincere and mature than the guy holding it, said. "You are not going anywhere until I`m sure you are fine."

I sat down again with a `humph` and noticed that his hand had gone from my shoulder to my wrist. Soon I had my small hand under his huge one. It felt way too good.

I was not brought up to hold hands with strangers. Not even good-looking strangers. Especially not good-looking strangers.

I pulled my hand away and we sat in an uncomfortable silence for what seemed like hours, but probably just was minutes.

"I`m Eric Northman," he said out of the blue and looked at me.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

"Sookie Stackhouse, Louisiana, USA." He seemed to taste my name like fine wine. "So what do you do when you are not being harassed by the locals in foreign cafes?"

I had to smile. "I`m a writer." He looked way too interested in my profession, so I continued. "You have probably never read me. I write romance and action, you know vampires and werewolves and that sort of thing. Almost exclusively female readers."

"Really? You`re not that woman who wrote those very popular books, hmmm Moonlight was it?"

"Twilight? Oh no, I don`t have that amount of readers. And my heroine is older and more mature."

Eric grinned. "So maturity and age go hand in hand?" He had apparently spotted the difference in our ages too.

"Of course," I teased. "Every year you are given two inches of maturity. The longer you`ve lived, the more mature. You didn`t know that?"

"Nah. Apparently the maturity-fairies skipped my house a couple of years." His grin was wide now. Daring me.

"Or you are just too young to have received any maturity at all?"

"Not much younger than you, judged by the maturity level we both are at." He winked at me.

I was looking for a great come-back when a waitress came over and rescued me from the embarrassment of not having anything witty to say.

The waitress said something I didn`t understand, but I assumed she was asking if we wanted anything else. She smiled at Eric and hardly noticed me - and I couldn`t blame her. He was the kind of guy who has women of all ages drooling. He was very handsome, but guys can be good-looking and still no one notices them. Eric had a lot of charm too. He had it painted all over him with a little hint of danger behind his gentle eyes.

I quickly looked away. If age hasn`t granted me maturity, it has certainly taught me never to reveal infatuations. Not that I was infatuated by Eric, of course. I had only just met him – and I still had the visuals of Bill`s white butt going up and down between a pair of female thighs.

Nausea hit me and I ran for the restrooms. I barely made it before my lunch made a second appearance. I was still crouched with my head in the toilet, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Are you ok?"

Isn`t that the silliest question to ask someone busy throwing up everything but their intestines? I was about to make a snappy comment, but forfeited. Partly because I didn`t have the energy and partly because he was stroking my hair so gently it made me sigh slightly.

I tried to get up and he helped me. He quickly got a few napkins wet and started to wash my face. This was a definite low point of my life. First Bill and now some kid wiping puke from my face. I wanted to get out, go home, be somewhere else.

Eric could apparently read my mind because his grip on my arm tightened.

"You are coming to my apartment to lie down," he said in a way that wasn`t open for debate. So I complied.

He steadied me and we got out into the café, grabbed my suitcase and were out of the door before I had thought it through. Outside the biting cold cleared my mind.

"Thank you for your help. I`ll just find a hotel and be out of your hair."

"As you can see, I have plenty of room for you in my hair," he shook his head and his long blond hair looked like a shampoo commercial. "And you are going nowhere. I came over to your table because you intrigued me. Now I`m worried."

"Great," I said, rolling my eyes. I had turned a young hottie from potential lover (yeah, as if) into a big brother.

We walked in silence for a couple of minutes until we came to the door to where Eric lived. He unlocked and we walked up the stairs to his apartment. I did not want to enter, but I did.

I walked in and I couldn`t help giggling a little. He had certainly not planned on company. It was a studio apartment so in one look I saw the dirty dishes in the sink, the clothes scattered around the bed and the books and magazines in piles around the couch.

"Your maid hasn`t been in today?" I couldn`t help myself.

Eric blushed a cute pink color.

He rushed in and started to clear the couch for me to sit on, then threw all the clothes on the floor into the closet. After that he frantically washed his dishes and I secretly vowed not to eat off any of them. He was truly a slob and I mentally knocked a few more years off his age. No one on my side of 30 would live in a pig sty like this.

I got up and started helping him clear things up. I went to find a rag and washed tables and shelves. It made me feel like Eric`s mother, but I figured I had to do it if I didn`t want to catch some advanced disease.

I picked up a broom and made my way towards his bed when Eric rushed through the room, soap bubbles running down his arms.

"Let me clear under the bed, Sookie."

"Afraid I would find your dirty magazines," I laughed. I had no idea what had gotten into me.

"No. Just worried the dust bunnies would be dangerous for a woman of your size. They are probably huge and lethal."

"Dust bunnies?" I snickered.

"Ah, that`s our word for the mean creatures under the bed of slobby, single guys," he laughed.

"Ok, Sir Northman. Go kill those dust bunnies and save a lady in distress."

Two hours later his little studio apartment had been sanitized and we sat down with the coffee Eric had made. Suddenly my stomach started growling. I was starving, which was no wonder since I had effectively lost everything I had eaten that day.

"I`ll call for a pizza," Eric offered.

"I can cook if you have something in your refrigerator."

"Ah, sorry. I`m really not the domestic type. I only have coffee and a couple of vitamins."

An hour later we were both stuffing ourselves with pizza with double cheese and all the trimmings.

"So how do you feel now?" Eric had stopped eating and his blue eyes scrutinized my face.

We had been having a good time with the cleaning and eating and I suddenly realized that I was okay. I had seen my husband having sex with his mistress this morning – and I was just fine. I told Eric and he was thrilled.

I got up. "I suppose your job is done now so I`ll find myself a nice hotel. Thank you for cheering me up."

Eric`s smile left his face.

"Oh, no no no." His hand was on my upper arm. "You may have some late reactions. You are traumatized, remember?"

"Who gave you the degree in psychology?"

"Actually I did take psychology classes at nursing school." He smiled his trademark smile.

"You`re a nurse?" I was surprised. I shouldn`t be, of course. Men could be nurses.

"I will be. This summer."

"You`re still in school?" I mentally knocked a couple of years off his age again.

"Yeah. I took some years off after high school and travelled the world."

I un-knocked the years and my relief surprised me.

"So why nursing school?" I asked.

Eric laughed. "Everyone told me there were no male nurses so I figured I would have all the women to myself. Only, I never thought of all the handsome doctors."

I laughed so hard, tears were rolling down my cheeks. "So you regret your choice?"

"No. It gives me the training so I can meet serious cases like your sweet self in a professional and orderly manner."

"You are planning on a career in geriatrics?" I laughed, but Eric`s laughter died.

"What are you talking about? You`re not old."

I didn`t feel old, but you know how it is when people tell you that you are not fat and it makes you feel like you weigh a ton? I suddenly felt like my own grandmother.

"I think we`re a perfect fit," he declared.

I was stunned.

"Are you trying to hit on me?"

"Yeah. Am I successful?"

I just gaped. "Eric. This morning I saw my husband`s hairy butt going up and down between legs that weren`t mine. You and I wouldn`t happen even if we were born on the same year."

Eric was quiet for a minute or two. Then he looked back at me.

"That just means you`ll have to stay here until you are over your husband`s hairy butt."

"I can`t stay here. I hardly know you."

"Where is your sense of adventure? You`re a writer and you write romance. Allow yourself some of it."

I couldn`t help laughing. "Does that really work on girls your age?"

Eric was annoyed. "Stop the age-thing. I like you and I`m attracted to you and I couldn`t care less if you`re 20 or 40."

"And you are a handsome and charming guy, but it`s just not enough."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Then Eric spoke.

"Then consider this research for your next novel. I`m the old vampire soul captured in a young body and you are the hot girl…."

"Woman," I corrected.

"…woman he just has to have."

I looked at him and my sense of adventure began to grow.

"Oh, what the hell. I can`t get a plane home, so what do I have to lose?"

Eric looked thrilled. "You have just put me in the Christmas spirit, Sookie."

"No, no, no. We can`t celebrate Christmas together. I`m sure you have a family you want to celebrate with and I`m not in the habit of singing my Christmas carols with total strangers."

A hard look came over Eric`s face, but disappeared so fast I wasn`t even sure I had seen it. He got up and started clearing the table. His face was expressionless, but I could see he was hurt.

"Look, I`m sorry. I didn`t mean to offend you. It`s just that Christmas is the holiday for families and I don`t want to impose on you."

He leaned back on the kitchen table and looked at me. I felt the fjords and the icy sky flowing from his eyes.

"You`re not imposing. I was planning on spending Christmas alone so you would be doing me a favor by sharing it with me," he finally said. "My parents died a couple of years ago and this is my first Christmas back home since it happened."

I felt awful for him. "I`m sorry." I didn`t know what to do. If he had been less sexy, I would have given him a hug, but I just couldn`t now.

I was lost for words and I didn`t know where to go from here. I should have been looking for a hotel, but I couldn`t leave him like this.

Eric drew a breath and his fingers went absentmindedly through his hair. He had lost his usual cool and gave me a shy smile.

"I`m really a downer, huh?" he said. "You know, I can understand why you would think it weird to be invited for Christmas with a total stranger and if you want, you can leave. It`s just… I like you and I would love to show you our local Christmas traditions."

That ignited something in me. Maybe it was my sense of adventure, maybe it was pity, maybe something else entirely, but I ended up flashing him a huge smile and saying. "I would love to spend Christmas with you."

If I was worried about touching Eric, he had no problems with physical contact. Before I could stop him, I was swung around in a hug any bear would be proud of.

He sat me down and started gathering the dirty laundry he had thrown into his cabinet and pulling the sheets from his bed. It all went into a huge backpack and he grabbed his jacket and put on his boots.

"I need to wash my clothes and buy some things for Christmas. I won`t buy the Christmas food until tomorrow, but I have a sore lack of Christmas ornaments and Christmas cookies and that just won`t do. I`ll be right back." He was half-way out the door before I managed to stop him.

"I`ll come with you," I said.

Xxxx

Three hours later we were home, giggling and carrying an obnoxious number of what he called `_nisser_`; little figures in all kinds of material of men and women with red clothes and Santa-hats. We also had Christmas lights for the window, Christmas table cloths, Christmas bed linen and enough Christmas candles to start a small fire.

And we had seven different kinds of cookies. According to Eric, you had to have seven kinds. Or 14 if you were ambitious.

"It`s just a shame we had to buy the cookies. They really should be home-baked," Eric sighed when he put the cookies in the cabinet. I was more worried about eating them all and was already envisioning a huge diet when I got home.

Eric turned into the Tasmanian Devil and before I could blink, he had the whole apartment turned into Santa`s workshop. It was way over the top, but he claimed all houses looked like that at Christmas time.

When it was time to go to sleep, I suddenly understood that I had been railroaded into spending the night in Eric`s apartment. An apartment with one bed and no guest rooms.

"Don`t worry. I`ll sleep on the couch. This is about you celebrating Christmas here, not us having sex." He looked like a little angel, saying that, but the halo disappeared. "Of course, feel free to jump my bones at any time," he grinned. "Christmas isn`t about sex, but I wouldn`t hold it against you if you wanted to include it."

"I think I`ll settle for the seven kinds of cookies, Eric," I answered him dryly.

With a sense of adventure, I crept under the Rudolph the raindeer-covers on Eric`s bed. I felt slightly bad about Eric having to sleep in his sleeping bag on his couch, but he assured me it was perfect. A slight snoring from that area of the apartment convinced me I wasn`t stealing his sleep even if I had occupied his bed.

Xxxx

Apparently shopping for food for Christmas was a task everyone had for December 23rd. Or `Littlechristmaseve` as Eric claimed `_lillejulaften_` meant. Eric had written a shopping list that was shockingly long, but wouldn`t listen to reason when I tried to shorten it.

Eric had given me a long lecture on how lucky I was to have met him, and not one of his countrymen, because I could easily have run into someone who would consider rotten fish, smoked sheep ribs or, and I swallowed hard when he showed me pictures of it online, half a sheep`s head, complete with tongue and everything.

Apparently Eric`s family had settled for `_ribbe_`, which was pork ribs with crusted fat on the top, as their food of tradition. We were also to eat sausages and meatballs as `_ribbe_` couldn`t be eaten alone. Not to mention the red cabbage, the sour cabbage, the sour jelly and the potatoes we were to stuff ourselves with.

I had offered to pay since I undoubtedly earned more money than a student in the art of nursing, but that almost offended Eric. "You are my guest," he had declared and that had been the end of that discussion.

We had barely put the food away before Eric said that we needed a Christmas tree. I laughed because I could not see where that would fit in his tiny apartment, but I still went with him to help carry it.

We were in a good mood, laughing and joking all the way down to the local lot where a guy was selling trees of all sizes and prices.

Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks. I would have recognized the dark hair, the pale skin and the Southern accent anywhere. I had, after all, been married to the owner the last ten years. Unfortunately Bill turned around just when I was looking for a place to hide.

"Sookie?" he asked with surprise in his voice.

"Hi Bill," I coughed out.

Eric looked at me and then at Bill. Suddenly I felt an arm snake its way around my waist.

"Is that the shitty excuse for a husband of yours?" he asked and I could have kissed him. Bill`s face crumbled and even if I`m a `turn the other cheek`-kind of girl, revenge had a sweet taste just then.

"Excuse me?" Bill was offended and the inner Sookie danced a dance of victory.

"A bit late for excuses, don`t you think?" Eric continued. He was voicing my thoughts, which was lucky because I would not have been able to speak if my life depended on it. "But never mind. Your loss is my gain. So I should thank you. I would never have met this wonderful woman if you had treated her right."

I stared at him. As much as I appreciated him verbally knocking down Bill, enough was enough. I was a grown up woman and should be able to speak for myself.

"We are a bit busy, Bill, so we`ll just have to talk at another time. I`ll file for divorce when I get back home and then we can put it all behind us."

"You would just throw away ten years like that?" Bill had apparently expected a different reaction to his infidelity. "A boy-toy lover and you forget your husband?"

It was lucky that Eric held on to me because it would have been sad to have spent Christmas in jail for assault. Or manslaughter. My only weapon was my tongue, unfortunately.

"My personal life became none of your business when you decided to screw that…"

"Are you coming, Bill?" As if on cue, a brown-haired woman came over to Bill. Since I couldn`t see her pale, naked legs now, I could not be sure this was the woman I had caught Bill with, but I was willing to bet it was. "Who are you?" she looked at us.

"I`m Bill`s wife. Nice to meet you." I stuck out my hand to her. If you plan on being sarcastic, you might as well go all the way.

"And I`m her boy-toy lover," Eric said with a smile.

The woman blushed and she and Bill were suddenly in a hurry to get away.

Eric and I decided on the largest Christmas tree on the lot. We felt the need to have the grandest celebration we could have. Never mind if it would take up most of Eric`s apartment.

The rest of `Littlechristmaseve` disappeared in a haze of tree decorating, Christmas preparations and drinking of _gløgg_, which was a warm and spicy drink with alcohol, raisins and nuts. It tasted great, but we were both pretty tipsy after the first cup. After four, we were dead drunk and went to sleep.

Xxxx

A very sweet smell woke me up on the 24th. When I opened my eyes, Eric was at the stove, looking very focused.

"Good morning," I yawned.

"Good afternoon," he teased, staring at the pot he was stirring, and I looked at my watch. It was 1 pm. How had that happened?

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I`m making hmmm I`m not sure what it`s called, but it`s sort of a porridge out of rice. And I don`t want to burn the milk."

"Rice pudding?"

Eric looked at me. "No, not really. We often have it for dinner here and on Christmas Eve we have it for lunch. We put an almond in it and the one getting the almond receives a present."

"Really?" I got up. It isn`t easy to change clothes in a studio apartment if you don`t want the other person in it to see you naked, so I headed for the bathroom.

Eric had had no such problems, claiming that nudity was totally normal for Scandinavians. So I had to look away every time he changed. At least I had managed to make him sleep in his underpants. Pajamas were out of the question since he didn`t have any. Why would he since he always slept bare? Or so he claimed.

When I came out, freshly showered and wearing a Christmasy red dress, Eric was setting the table.

"Do you want a butter hole?" he asked.

I laughed. "A butter hole?"

"Yes, I always put a spoon of butter in the middle of the bowl before I pour the porridge. It`s good."

"Ok, I`m adventurous. Give me a butter hole," I smiled.

"We also put cinnamon and sugar on it."

"I`ll take it the way you eat it. Just make sure I get the almond."

As it turned out halfway through my bowl, Eric had done what I asked him to. The almond was mine and I screamed like a little child. "Yay! I got the almond."

Eric laughed. "You were supposed to hide the almond until everyone had had three helpings, looking for it. But you should certainly get your present."

He walked over to the kitchen cabinet where he found something in red paper. I opened it and stared. A marzipan pig with a red bow.

"It`s tradition," Eric answered my unasked question. "Always a marzipan pig for the one winning the almond-prize."

We ate the rest of the porridge and then we ate the pig. Eric handed me some _gløgg_ and put on the television.

"We have to see Disney Christmas and `Three Nuts for Cinderella`," he exclaimed as he sat down next to me on the couch.

"Three Nuts for Cinderella?"

"It`s a Czech movie from the `70s. We watch it every year and I guarantee you`ll love it!"

If anyone had told me a week ago I would love an old Czech movie about Cinderella, I would have laughed hard, but I did. This Cinderella was fun, charming and tough. And the movie was very romantic.

I smiled and a little sigh escaped my lips when it was finished.

"I told you you`d love it." Eric was pretty excited and I must admit that the Christmas spirit came to me just then. Which was amazing considering what Bill had put me through.

"Yes, you did. You know what? I`m really glad I stayed here. Thank you, Eric." I gave him a hug, but pulled back when he started caressing my back.

He coughed slightly and I detected a small blush.

"I`ll start on the food. I`ve never done this before, but I`ve found some pretty good recipes online and how hard can it be?"

"Sure you don`t need any help?" I asked.

"Well, maybe you could be my backup. I`ve never handled so many things simultaneously. Usually it`s just a frozen pizza in the oven."

And so we cooked the pork ribs with crisp fat, the cabbages, the sausages and meat-balls and the potatoes together. We had fun and even if the food didn`t look all that delicate, a very tempting smell filled the apartment.

After a couple of hours of cooking, and one fire put out (crisping fat isn`t as easy as it looks), we sat down for our Christmas dinner. Eric got beer and something he called _Akvavit_ from the refrigerator. I soon learned that _Akvavit_ was pretty strong and halfway through my pork ribs, I was singing Christmas carols.

Eric laughed. "We don`t usually sing until after dinner, but with your lovely singing voice…"

That shut me up. I can dance, but my singing makes dogs howl. We finished dinner and Eric served a lovely dessert with some orange berries I`d never seen before, mixed with whipped cream.

"Now it`s time for the ritual dance around the Christmas tree," Eric declared.

"The Christmas tree is in the corner. We can`t dance around it," I said, still pretty drunk from the _Akvavit_.

"Never mind. I`ve made a special Christmas list on my iPod and we can dance any way we want."

So we boogied, discoed, slamdanced (I had to explain to Eric what it was and felt I aged myself way more than I wanted to) and danced some newer dances Eric had to teach me.

After an hour of intense dancing, we just fell down on the couch, totally exhausted.

"Now it`s time for the presents. We give away presents on the evening of the 24th here, you know." Eric gave me a smirk.

"WHAT? You never told me we were exchanging presents!" Shit. I hated getting presents when I couldn`t give any.

"It doesn`t matter. I have a couple I would love to give to you and they are all presents I`ll enjoy just as much as you. If not more." He had a sly look on his face. "So here goes." He gave me a warm hug.

"The hug was your present?" I asked.

"Mhmm," he answered, his mouth down on my neck. "Here is the second one." He kissed my neck tenderly.

"I like your presents," I giggled. That made him hug me closer and nuzzle my neck even more.

"And now for your last present," he pulled back slightly, looked me in the eyes and suddenly I had his warm lips on mine. First it was a chaste kiss, but when a small moan escaped my mouth, he kissed me harder and let his tongue slip in to play with mine.

His hands started trailing down my back and up my front. I had my hands in his soft hair. I just couldn`t get enough of it. I moaned when his huge hand found my breast. They fit like they were made for each other. He caressed it very gently and we kissed and touched for quite some time.

I was totally lost in the feeling of kissing Eric when I suddenly felt his hand sneaking its way down my side to my thigh and under the hem of my dress.

I pulled back slightly and looked Eric in the eyes. I had to stop myself from drowning in them.

"We can`t, Eric. It`s too soon for me."

Eric smiled and kissed me on my cheek. "I know. I got carried away and who could really blame me with you sitting so close?"

"Uh-huh. I`m old enough to be your mother, Eric."

Eric started laughing. "When do people in Louisiana have kids? At the age of 7?"

"I`m 39, Eric."

Eric kissed me. "I would have guessed 33 or 34, but you would still have been 13 to have had me. I`m 26."

"I`m not usually a cradle-robber." The minute I said it, I knew it was wrong. Eric pulled back slightly.

"Well, thank you very much. What am I supposed to say to that? That I`m not usually a rocking chair-robber?" He looked offended, but his eyes told me he was teasing.

"So you don`t go to dances at the local retirement home?"

"Well, I`ll stop now since I already got myself an old lady. But now you`ll have to stop going to the kindergarten-parties. Can you handle that?"

We kissed a little more, held hands and talked about our lives. Eric`s hand never made it under my dress again and I never gave his age another thought.

Soon we were ready to go to bed and even if I would have loved to continue the handholding and hugging throughout the night, I didn`t have the courage to ask for it.

I had a hard time falling asleep. My mind was replaying everything that was said and done and my ears were listening for sounds from the couch.

Xxxx

I didn`t get much sleep and at 7 I gave up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When I came out, I couldn`t help noticing Eric`s magnificent body. Ok, I was ogling. He was splayed on top of his sleeping bag, face up.

Before I could second guess myself, I went over and gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead. We give Christmas presents on the morning of the 25th. Don`t you want to see what Santa left in your stocking?"

He opened his eyes and then he really opened them. I was naked.

A smile curled on his lips. "I thought Americans were too prude to be naked in front of strangers?" he teased.

"Are you saying you don`t want your present?"

He grabbed my butt and pulled me on top of him. I kissed him and let my hands roam his strong chest while straddling his hips. I ground myself onto him and was rewarded with a groan and a part of him getting harder.

He kissed me back, letting his tongue play around in my mouth. His hands were still groping my behind and he pulled me down on his erection, grinding himself into me.

"Ah Sookie," he moaned.

I tugged at his underpants and with joint effort we got them off him. I impaled myself on him accompanied by a loud mutual sound, usually only heard on the African savanna when lions mated.

I moved up and down with one of Eric`s hands on my hip and the other making its way down between my legs. His thumb found its target and started rubbing gentle circles that added to the pleasure I got from having him inside me.

We grunted and sweated and it was a glorious thing. When I started to feel my cheeks getting numb, I yelled out loud and was hit in the back of my head with a wave of pure joy. Eric met my hips a few more times and grunted "aaahhh".

I collapsed on top of him and we lay there bathed in sweat, both panting and shivering.

Suddenly I sat up. "Shit, I forgot a condom," I yelled. I looked at Eric. "I haven`t had a new sex partner in over ten years and I completely forgot. I`m on the pill so I can`t get pregnant, but…"

"You don`t have to worry about me, Sookie. It`s at least half a year since I`ve had sex and I`ve been checked since."

"Yeah, but I have no idea what Bill might have given me. I haven`t slept with Bill since he moved over here this summer, but… shit."

Eric pulled me back down and hugged me. "There is probably nothing to worry about and I refuse to let Bill ruin perfect sex. Let me give Mrs. Santa a proper thank you." And I was apparently Mrs. Santa`s stand-in because I got a kiss that would curl the toes of any girl. It did more than that to me.

"Perfect sex, huh?" I smiled into his neck when the kiss was over.

"Oh yeah. I really love getting my Christmas presents in the morning".

"Presents? I only remember giving you one present." I licked a trail from his neck to his ear and bit his earlobe slightly.

"Yes, but I know you have more presents stashed away somewhere. In the shower, perhaps?"

He got up from lying on the coach to standing up - with me still straddling him. I screamed at the feeling of suddenly being airborne and before I knew it, I was having my second shower that day. I was allowed to stand on my own two feet and Eric used the showerhead on my body.

"I think my next present is to get to clean you, isn`t it?"

I was robbed of by ability to speak so I just nodded. The showerhead made its way down between my thighs and I spread them slightly to accommodate it.

Eric kissed me deeply and had his hand on my breast while the water from the showerhead did magical things to me. Eric made small movements up and down with it, making my body remember the emotions that had flushed through it just some minutes earlier.

And then it happened. I came hard, my entire body trembling. I pushed the showerhead away, being way too sensitive for it now, and leaned on Eric`s shoulder.

"Wow," was all I managed to say.

"And that `wow` was my second Christmas present." I looked up and met the most beautiful smile.

"Remind me to give you a lot of presents," I grinned.

Xxxx

The days between Christmas morning and New Year`s Eve, Eric and I shagged, fucked, screwed, had sex and made love. It was our luck that Eric had bought enormous amounts of food because there was no way we could get out of the apartment.

If I had been worried about what seven types of Christmas cookies, not to mention food with crisp fat on it, would do to my figure, I could relax. The amount of exercise I was getting put me in better shape than I had been in years. We were on fire and no fire extinguisher could put us out.

I learned that on New Year`s Eve. Eric had started the day by nuzzling my neck.

"You know they give each other presents on New Year`s Eve in Russia?" he whispered.

"Mhmm."

"Well, I`m declaring this Russian territory and suggest we exchange gifts."

We were very extravagant in the presents we gave each other and it was closer to midnight before we decided to put our clothes on and go down onto the streets. Eric claimed people used up half their December wages on fireworks and we wanted to see it.

We got dressed and when we came out, I was amazed at how little the cold bothered me now. It could be that global warming had finally kicked in, but I figured it was due to the wonderful guy next to me and the way he made my heart pump.

The fireworks were a spectacular view. At midnight Eric opened a bottle of Champagne and filled two glasses while everyone else shot up all kinds of colors in the night sky. He held up one glass for me and lifted his own.

"To the most wonderful Christmas ever." And then he kissed me gently.

I looked into his eyes and saw little flames. I knew they mirrored the ones in my eyes – and that was when I saw Bill and realized he was out of my life.

He was holding hands with the brunette and I expected to feel pain deep in my heart. When it never came, I kissed Eric again.

"The most wonderful Christmas ever. And the best New Year`s Eve."

xxxx

In the next book I wrote, the love interest of my heroine was no longer dark-haired and pale. He was tall, blond and very sexy. An old vampire soul trapped in a young body.

* * *

**A/N:**

Thank you very much for reading. I may add a few chapters to this story after the contest if anyone is interested in an extension to the tale.

I have deliberately not written which country this story takes place in. The food is very Norwegian (you really won`t believe the Norwegian Christmas food – I was in shock when I came here :-/ ), but the traditions are pretty much the same in both Sweden and Denmark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dust-bunnies and Christmas Presents – chapter 2**

**A/N:**

First I want to thank everyone who voted for this story and made it win the Naughty and Nice Contest. "But the contest was over a year ago," you say? I know, I know. I`ve had a chapter two (and three and four…) in my head all along but apparently it needed to simmer a little bit. I hope you`ll like this story.

Thank you, **Rascalthemutant,** for reading this story and correcting my mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Date: February 15th

From: Tallblondnsexy

To: Americancougar

Subject: Change your nick!

I`ve said it a hundred times and I`ll say it again. I don`t like your nick and I want you to change it. If I could change a perfect nick like "bigdick" because you didn`t like it, then you can change your nick too.

The Winter break fell through. Usually we have a week off in February to go skiing (or visit our lovers in USA), but our professor cancelled ours. We have to "volunteer" at the hospital because so many people break their legs. Good thing that I didn`t buy the tickets then, huh?

Next chance for me to get off is Easter. It`s from April 16th and will be almost two weeks of me exploring every inch of your body.

But April… too far away. Sure you can`t get away from your busy schedule? Authors can write their books from anywhere, can`t they? I have a desk in my apartment and I`ll promise to clean it – both the desk and my apartment, I mean. No dust bunnies.

Imagine what we could do on the desk when you were finished writing.

* * *

Date: February 16th

From: Americanlady

To: Tallblondnsexy

Subject: Notice my new nick

You wore me down. I now have a boring new nick.

You know I love "Tallblondnsexy". It`s you. You`re tall blond and sexy. And you would be bragging about it too. Bigdick didn`t fit you at all.

April? A two week Easter celebration sounds perfect. Christmas at your place and Easter at mine And no, I can`t get off my schedule right now. My new book will be out later this year and I`m doing a tour in bookstores from Memphis to Melbourne to make sure people remember to buy it. No European bookstores have booked me, unfortunately.

Though it would be worth a visit just to see you clean your apartment.

I`ll give you a call to discuss what we could have done on that desk of yours.

* * *

Date: February 17th

From: Tallblondnsexywithabigdick

To: AmericanLADY

Subject: Where do I go?

That was truly an inspirational call. I needed a couple of hours to replenish afterwards. You are welcome to call me again, anytime, even if you are not too old to do anything.

What do you mean that Bigdick didn`t fit me? Are you calling me small? Install Skype and I`ll give you a reminder.

I`ll book the tickets. Are you still in New York or are you back in Louisiana when I come over for your very special Easter celebrations? Will you be wearing a bunny costume?

* * *

Date: February 18th

From: Americanlady

To: Tallblondnsexywithabigdick

Subject: New York is my new home

Your dick is fine. As you well know. And you`re more than just a big dick. As you well know. What I`m more worried about is the fact that you needed several hours to replenish last night. Are you getting old?

Louisiana is my home state but when my books started to sell and I spent more and more time in NYC, I ended up renting an apartment here. Well, it was really a room at a friend`s apartment. But recently I bought my own apartment and put my house in Louisiana up for sale. This was after all a house I shared with Bill and I figured needed a clean start.

So make your airline tickets to New York. I`m looking forward to seeing you here. And no, there will be no bunny costumes involved.

I`ll call you again someday. But this next week I won`t be online much as I have a book tour and I won`t be bringing my laptop. My shoulders are showing signs of keyboard-exhaustion and I promised my doctor I'd give writing a break.

Talk to you later.

* * *

Date: February 18th

From: Tallblondnsexy

To: Americanlady

Subject: I`ll kiss the pain away

I`ll be waiting for your call. And I`ll be waiting for your shoulders to heal. Sure you don`t want me there to kiss them? And other body parts?

I`ll e-mail you back when I have the tickets.

* * *

Date: February 20th

From: Tallblondnsexy

To: Americanlady

Subject: Tickets are bought. Now go buy the bunny costume

I now have two non-refundable tickets to New York. Would you mind picking me up at JFK on Saturday the 16th of April?

* * *

Date: March 10th

From: Tallblondnanxious

To: Americanlady

Subject: Are you back from book tour?

Hi there,

I just wanted to see if you were back.

I tried calling you, but went straight to the machine.

Just give me a ping so I know you`re all right, ok? Nude pictures are fine too!

* * *

Date: March 20th

From: Tallblondnpissedoff

To: Americanfraud

Subject: Fuck you!

So I was just an easy lay for you? Some young meat for you to nibble on until you found someone more appropriate at the geriatric ward?

And you couldn`t even have picked up the phone to tell me?

Well, thank you very much. Nice to have met you.

* * *

**EPOV**

It was Easter and I was going to New York - and I was not going to think about Sookie Stackhouse. Not even once.

I`d been to New York several times before and I loved the city. Pamela, my sister, had agreed to join me on the trip. Her planned romantic Easter with her girlfriend had fallen through because she`d, the girlfriend, not Pam, had suddenly found out she`d wanted husband and kids. Something Pam couldn`t give her even if she`d wanted to.

One would think we would be two broken hearts on that airplane going to New York but we were very far from it. Pam had been her usual sarcastic self and I was trying to flirt with the girl across the aisle from me. It turned out she was too young and silly for my taste, but I was back in the saddle.

I was glad I had Pam in the seat next to me. Most women would have screamed at the chance of going shopping in New York, but Pamela was not like that at all. Pam had to dress up for work, but when she was off the clock, she was all jeans and simple blouses. And thinking of it – at work she was mainly in scrubs or a white coat anyway. Who knew what she was wearing underneath?

Pam, or Doctor Ravenscroft as her colleagues called her, was my big sister and my best friend. We`d often been mistaken for lovers by people who didn`t know us, on account of our different last names. Our parents had made the controversial, at that time, choice to give the girl our mother`s last name and the boy our father`s. It made sense to us but not always to the outside world.

Pam and I were going to see all the sights, of course, but we were also going to just drift about, enjoy the night life and generally get a feeling of the city. We were going to have fun and probably drink a lot. Pam had already started on the plane – the evidence, a couple of small empty bottles, were on the little table in front of her.

Yes, I knew where Sookie lived, and no, I was not going to visit her to ask her what the hell she was thinking, stringing me along like that and then dropping me like a hot potato. I had no idea why she`d done it, but there would be palm trees in Oslo before I asked her the questions that had been bothering my mind for months. A man has his pride.

Yes, I`d checked her fansites to make sure she wasn`t dead or in a hospital, paralyzed in both arms. She`d stopped tweeting to her fans around the time she`d stopped contacting me, but her PR-people had issued a statement saying Sookie had started writing her next book at little sooner than anticipated. So she had postponed her book signing tour, stopped being online on her fansite – and ditched me.

Essentially Sookie had put her next book before me.

I had been angry at her. Very angry. And then I`d thrown all my anger into my studies and I`d never done better than these past months.

Pam had teased me for turning into a monk, but I had had no desire to screw around. The fact was that I hadn`t slept with anyone since Sookie and that was the longest I`d gone without sex since I`d lost my virginity.

But now it would end. Two whole weeks – that was the time I would have in New York and I felt pretty confident I would find a nice girl to take my mind off Sookie. Maybe more than one.

"What are you so gloomy about?" Pam asked.

I flashed her a smile. "When has Eric Northman ever been gloomy?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Only the last two months."

"I was focusing on my paper. I thought you of all people would be thrilled to see me study hard," I answered and added, "Doctor Ravenscroft," in my most ironic tone.

"Don`t `Doctor Ravenscroft` me. You miss that author and you might as well admit it."

"`That author` turned out to be a bitch and I don`t want to hear more about her." I shook my head when Pam opened her mouth. "And no, I`m not going to look her up."

"So you`re ok if I pursue her? She looks hot in the photos." Pam grinned.

"Fuck you, Pam," I said and closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

Soon we were in New York and after what seemed like an eternity, we were through visa checks and customs. One would think the good old US of A wouldn`t want anyone to visit her because she does her very best to frighten people off in the visa check line. I always feel like a terrorist under the watchful eyes of the sharply shaven officials.

But we were welcomed and I took a deep breath of air when I got outside. Airplanes and long legs were a bad combination. I was lucky that Pam was tiny because it meant I could use some of her leg space too. Not that she didn`t complain when I inched my way into her territory.

We took a taxi to the hotel we`d booked in advance, a huge and dark building just across Madison Square Garden. Checked into our rooms, unloaded our bags and went for the first thing I always did when I came to America: breakfast.

Nothing beat a full American breakfast. The pancakes themselves were worth the trip over. How Americans had ever thought that a dessert was fit for breakfast, I don`t know, but I loved the idea.

I ordered a stack with chocolate chips AND chocolate sauce. Pam went semi-healthy and ordered pancakes with blueberries. We had coffee and orange juice and I could feel my spirits lift with every bite of pancake I stuffed into my mouth.

Afterwards we strolled out into the New York spring. The sun was shining and even if it didn`t make it all the way down into the streets, it was still nice.

For the first time in ages, I smiled.

My general good mood was probably the reason why I didn`t suspect anything when Pam said she needed to get some books and pulled me into the huge bookstore just across the street from the restaurant where I`d just gained 5 kilos.

"Sure," I said. I enjoyed bookstores over here. Books were so much cheaper and they had so many genres one would never find in a Scandinavian bookstore.

Yes, I`d started reading supernatural books after I`d met Sookie and I`d had a hard time finding them at home – well, until I noticed that all vampire books were on the kiddie shelves.

I figured I could quench my new addiction for vampire books here while Pam looked for whatever books she wanted to buy. It wasn`t until I was well inside the bookstore, I realized Pam`s dirty plot. I noticed a huge line of people and was of course curious to see which author they all wanted autographs from. I strolled closer, Pam by my side, when I suddenly stopped.

It was Sookie. Freaking Sookie Stackhouse.

"What the hell, Pam?" I growled.

"I checked her website," she explained innocently. "I wanted to see her."

"Well, I didn`t," I said and started to move away.

"Don`t be such a baby. Your big sister wants to see the only woman that has ever had your heart."

"Just too bad she threw it on the ground and stomped on it," I hissed.

People were starting to stare at us so when Pam went over to stand in the line, I walked with her. I should have left the store but I couldn`t.

I peeked out from our place in the line and tried to catch a glimpse of Sookie, sitting there behind a table that looked way too big for her. Pam was staring too.

"Why is she wearing a wig?" she asked.

"Huh?" I tried to look closer and Pam was right. Not only was Sookie wearing a wig but she was also wearing much more make up than she did when she was in Norway. Back then she`d been a mascara and lipgloss woman and hardly even that. Now she had a thick layer of foundation, powder, rouge and what not. Her natural glow was all gone. Her eyes were heavily painted and her mouth looked weird too. Her nails were long and red and I felt like I was looking at someone else. Not Sookie.

Had success caught up with her? Had she become one of those American glamour women one only saw on TV and in magazines? Why would she wear a wig? Her natural hair looked great and that wig was way too platinum-blond for her.

I`d never considered Sookie vain but apparently I`d been mistaken. She`d become some Stepford wife – only a divorced one.

I couldn`t decide whether to be sad for her or to gloat but ended up doing the latter. Sookie looked terrible even if she`d spent an awful lot of time and money trying to look good.

"Is that what you pined for?" Pam asked, shaking her head.

"She`s changed," I replied.

Pam managed to be quiet all the time we waited in line and finally it was our turn to talk to Sookie.

I shoved the book I`d grabbed from the stack next to the desk, in her direction and without looking up she asked "And who should I write the dedication to?"

"Tallblondnsexy," I replied. Sookie`s head snapped up and she stared at me. "If you can be bothered. Answering an e-mail or a phone call is apparently too much work for an old lady like you."

I couldn`t tell if she was blushing, her makeup was too heavy, but she did look down again and put her pen to my book. She didn`t write anything so I continued. "You found yourself a new kid to have fun with?"

Sookie looked up again. "Eric…" she started. Then her face grew hard. "It`s none of your business."

Then she wrote "Sookie Stackhouse" and nothing else in my book and gave it to me. She looked behind me at the people in the line and said "next".

It felt as if she`d slapped me and I stumbled away. Pam grabbed my arm and moved me slowly towards the cash register to pay for the book I didn`t want.

"What a bitch," she hissed.

"Yeah."

When we`d paid, I desperately needed air and we made our way through the store. We were by the doors when a voice came out of the loudspeakers. First I couldn`t make out what was said and I didn`t much care either. I wasn`t interested in any of their Easter offers.

But then the voice grew louder, more desperate and I heard it.

"Is there a doctor in the bookstore?"

I looked at Pam who`d already turned around. A doctor is always on the clock. I followed her back into the store.

* * *

**A/N**

First – **NO**, I did not give Sookie cancer. I hope you liked this chapter!

Do you know which day it is today? Today is the first day of the **Home Sweet Home Contest**. Take any or all of the SVM-characters to your home country/ home town and write us a story. **Suki59** and yours truly are the hosts and we home to see many great stories! www . fanfiction . net/u/2623209/HomeSweetHome (take away the spaces).

There are only 10 days left of the **Saint Eric Contest** that **Peppermintyrose** is hosting and I`m one of the judges. As in this chapter, Eric is not always the perfect gentleman towards Sookie. Sometimes, in the books and here, he hurts her feelings. How about writing a story about Eric`s flaws? Or write an ironic story where Eric is perfect. www . fanfiction . net/u/2621565/Saint_Eric (take away spaces).


	3. Chapter 3

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 3**

**A/N:**

I`m so thrilled to see that this story hasn`t been entirely forgotten. So many great reviews – yes, they put a huge smile on my face. I`m also glad that you chose to follow this story even if there is a huge change from chapter one to chapter two. It would be a pretty boring story if these love birds didn`t have any problems at all, right?

I want to thank **Rascalthemutant** for being such a great beta. Good luck with the studies!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**SPOV**

"I told you I don`t need a doctor," I said again but no one was listening.

Yes, maybe I shouldn`t have been out signing books so soon, but I wasn`t made for lying back and eating bonbons. I needed to work, do something. And since I couldn`t write, I didn`t have the attention span just now and my eyesight was acting up, at least I could sign my autograph.

Or so I thought. I wanted to scream, cry, kick something. Instead I tried to smile at the shop manager who was pacing back and forth like a lion in a cage. He`d tried to call Alcide, my manager, but he wasn`t picking up the phone.

Alcide had encouraged this. He felt it was wise for me to get back in the circus ring, as he`d called it. "Maybe the smell of sawdust will help you," he`d said. I`d wanted him to accompany me but his girlfriend Debbie had made plans for them and who was I to get between two lovers.

Well, Debbie probably felt I`d gotten between them already. Alcide had spent some time sitting with me at the hospital and Debbie had hated every minute of it. I`d wanted to tell her that Alcide was all business. Even when he flirted it was as a manager trying to get his best client back on the money-earning train. But Debbie wouldn`t have believed me if I`d told her so I just listened to her rants and kept my mouth shut.

"I`m fine," I said to the shop manager but I could see he didn`t believe me.

To him I was some weak little flower that had passed out in his shop and he wanted to make sure I didn`t fall over and die. Or sue him for neglect.

I just wanted to get back to the poor people waiting in line for my autograph and a smile. I owed it to them. They`d bought my book and they were paying for the butter on my bread. I didn`t want to send them home empty-handed. It was bad enough with all the cancellations these last months. I hated them. Each and every one. I could read the disappointment on my fansite.

Or rather, I couldn`t read them all because I was having problems with my eyesight. But just reading a few of them made me feel terrible. Some fans had booked hotels and arranged to meet other fans when I was coming to their nearest town to sign their books - and then I`d cancelled on them.

So I`d forced myself out of bed and told Alcide to set up something close to my apartment. Just to dip my toes in the water. Alcide had been thrilled. I could almost see the dollar-signs in his eyes, but I figured that if he made money it was because I made money and I certainly needed money with all the extra expenditures I`d had lately.

Yes, I`d had medical insurance and I thanked myself for having started to pay on that a couple of years ago. But I still had to pay for lawyers, nurses coming to my place every day and the remodeling of my apartment when I was still in a wheelchair. Even food is more expensive when you have to have people shop for you.

The book signing had gone well. I`d been in pain, of course, and my eyesight had been blurry. But I`d been able to smile, chat a little and sign people`s books – and I`d loved every moment of it.

Until _he_ popped up.

First, when I was in the hospital, the memories of my Christmas with Eric were what kept me alive. Kept me sane. I`d been swimming in and out of consciousness but Eric had been in my thoughts all the time. Not Eric as such, but my week in his apartment. All the little details. Things we`d said and done.

Eric hadn`t been a real person when I was in my hospital bed – more a figment of my imagination, a dream, my own personal lifejacket in the stormy sea I`d been in. He`d been the safe haven I could seek when there were so many things I didn`t want to think about.

But when I came home from the hospital he`d turned very real. When I could finally turn on my computer and open my e-mails, there were hundreds and I couldn`t read them all at once, his shone like little beacons and I opened them one by one.

I could see why he was angry but I didn`t need six and a half feet of fury in my life - even if it was only electronically. I`d had more than my share of aggression and couldn`t handle more. Didn`t want to handle it. So in spite of Gran having brought me up to be polite and answer people when they wrote to you, I ignored him. And I didn`t even feel guilty about it.

"Where is the patient?" a female voice asked.

I looked up and into two very displeased eyes. It was the woman who had accompanied Eric in the line. She had a Scandinavian accent and was probably Eric`s new lover. Somewhere deep down I felt a vague pain but I shrugged it off. Hadn`t Eric said he`d studied to become a nurse because of all the women he`d wanted to meet? Apparently he`d met a doctor instead of a nurse.

She looked older than him. Not as old as me, of course, but older. Mature women were Eric`s thing, apparently.

"I`m Doctor Ravenscroft," she said. "What`s wrong?"

"Nothing, really. I don`t know why they insisted on bringing me back here and calling for a doctor." I shook my head and tried my 1000 Watt smile. It didn`t have the reassuring effect I`d hoped for because Doctor Ravenscroft crouched down and started looking me in my eyes and taking my pulse.

"You need to lie down so I can give you a more thorough check up," she said. "Do you have a couch somewhere?" She`d turned her head and was now talking to the shop manager who looked even paler than five minutes ago. Maybe he needed the services of the good doctor more than I did?

I was half-carried to a couch in the next room. I couldn`t make out all the faces that were following my every move, which was probably all for the best. Who wants to be the person everyone stares at? I just hoped no one took pictures. I wasn`t a big celebrity, by far, but I had no desire to have my picture posted anywhere right now even if it was on friendly but concerned fansites.

Luckily the first thing Doctor Ravenscroft did when I was settled on the couch was to throw everyone out. Everyone but herself, me and… oh, I recognized that tall figure looming in the corner. The broad shoulders, the blond hair. I might not have been able to distinguish his features, but I would have recognized Eric in a dark basement, while being blindfolded and wearing sunglasses. If that was even possible.

"He needs to leave too," I said to his girlfriend. It was hard to see her as a doctor when Eric was so close to her.

"He`s a nurse," she said. "I might need his help."

"He needs to go," I replied. "He`s not a nurse yet and…" I was about to say that I didn`t want him to see me like this, but what would be the point of saying that out loud? If I`d learned anything from my time as a patient, it was to give doctors as few explanations as possible. Orders, they understood, explanation only made them want to argue with you. "He needs to go," I said again.

I heard a sound of anger and a door that was slammed shut and then I released a breath.

"What did my brother do?" Doctor Ravenscroft said.

"Your brother?" I asked. My brain was working slowly but then I understood what she meant. "Oh. Eric`s your brother."

She nodded. "Yes, I`m Pam. Eric`s sister. And what has my little brother done?"

I couldn`t see how that was any business of hers so I shrugged.

"Right," she said. "They told me you`d fainted. Is there anything in your medical history I should know about?"

I sighed. "I`m fine."

"Sure. But let`s be on the safe side, shall we?"

This was one of the reasons why I hated doctors. They never listened. And they always won any argument.

"Do you have any medical equipment with you?" I asked in the hope that her lack of stethoscope and medicines would deter her.

"No, but I have my eyes. I can see if you need further medical attention and I can make sure you get it. Now, is there anything I should be aware of?"

It`s so very easy to ignore people when you can`t really see them. My eyesight was more blurry than ever but I didn`t want her to know. It was bad enough that it had disappeared all together when I was in public. I hadn`t fainted. Not really. I had been temporarily blind. Well, I had been dizzy too but I hadn`t fainted.

"Are you being treated for cancer?" she asked all of a sudden.

"What? No." I squinted, trying to make out what she was looking at and why she had come to that conclusion.

"Please remove your wig," she said.

"No." I hated my wig, I really did, but there was no way I would let anyone see what I looked like without it.

The wig wasn`t anywhere close to what my own hair used to look like. Even I could see that. But I hadn`t had the strength to buy one myself and had had to rely on Debbie to get it for me. I should have known that Debbie`s taste for cheap looks would make her buy the blondest wig she could find. Or maybe she`d just gotten me the ugliest one in the shop. I would never know.

Pam walked over to the door and locked it. "My brother never told me you were vain."

"I`m not," I said. I wasn`t vain except for my hair. And I wasn`t really vain about my hair either except when I missed big chunks of it.

"Then remove your wig, please."

I swallowed something, probably my pride, and took off my wig. My real hair was fastened with little pins to my scalp and I knew I looked horrible. The bald parts stood out. And so did the scar.

"What happened to you?" she asked in that very efficient voice doctors have. They were never surprised or shocked.

"I was attacked," I said. No point in elaborating.

She pulled a lamp over and removed the lampshade. "Close your eyes," she said. "Now open them." I did as I was told and I knew what she was looking for. It was therefore no surprise when she said that she didn`t like the way my pupils reacted to light.

"There was some damage after the attack," I explained.

"Are you under medical care now?"

"I am." I nodded like a good girl though I knew the medical care I was under consisted of a check up once a week.

"You should go to the hospital now, just to be on the safe side. Head traumas are nasty business."

"Sure," I said, knowing very well I was not going to go to the hospital. They`d already checked my head from every angle. Sometimes you need time to heal. And sometimes you would never heal entirely. I still didn`t know which category I fit in.

"But you`re not going to go." Eric`s sister had read my thoughts.

"No, I`m not."

She looked at the scars on my scalp. Then she turned my head up and looked at my face. "It looks like you took quite a beating? Reconstructive surgery?"

"Uh huh." It was all I could say since she held my jaw and turned my face this way and that, but it seemed adequate. What else can I say about the physical signs of the worst night of my life?

Her eyes searched my face a little more then she pulled up my shirt and checked the scars on my chest and back.

"Is this the reason why you ditched my brother?"

I looked at her. "I can`t see how that`s any of your business," I replied. Eric was a thing of the past and I would like for it to stay that way. I didn`t need him, his sister or any of his anger in my life right now.

"Of course it`s my business. My brother liked you." She rolled her eyes at me like I was a little girl.

"And now he doesn`t. Let`s leave it at that."

Pamela Ravenscroft looked at me for some time, big sister and doctor at the same time. Then she shook her head. "Very well."

To my big surprise Doctor Ravenscroft got up, handed me my wig, let me put it on and helped me adjust it, and then she walked me out.

"Ms. Stackhouse needs a taxi," she said to the bookstore manager who looked like he was having a nervous breakdown.

"No, I can finish up in the store. I`m fine." Those nice people in the line had been waiting long enough.

"You are not fine and you`re going home. It`s either that or the hospital." Eric`s sister was adamant.

I hate doctors.

Somehow I managed to get home and crawl into my bed. I slept until the next morning, woke up and was back to feeling miserable.

I couldn`t write, I couldn`t read and apparently I couldn`t even meet my fans. I was recently divorced, I had no significant person in my life, I couldn`t do my job – I felt like I had no purpose in life. I didn`t even have a cat.

The only thing I could do was to think and I really didn`t want to do that. There were too many things I wanted to forget, or rather, there was one big thing I didn`t want to think about and now I was left in a state where I couldn`t forget it. My brain circled around it like a vulture over a half-dead animal.

So I did what I`d done at the hospital before I got Eric`s angry e-mails. I thought of my time with him. My Christmas in Scandinavia.

Seeing Eric had been terrible. The expression on his face matched the tone of his e-mails to me. He`d been so angry, so mad. But it had been good to see him too. Eric was truly a handsome man. No, sexy. He was the picture of sexy. Or maybe it was just me, remembering what Eric could do with that tall body of his.

Now that I knew I was never going to see him again - I`d prevented that with my brush-off today - I could look back at my Christmas with him and enjoy it over and over again. I lay back on my couch, took a deep breath and took my mind back to his little apartment with all the Christmas ornaments and the smell of all the food he`d made.

And the sex. Remembering the sex we`d had, made me forget everything bad that had happened after I`d left him.

It made me forget Bill. His anger when I`d filed for a divorce. His rage. And what he`d done to me. I hadn`t even known he was back in the country when I`d opened the door and he was outside with his very special greeting.

No, I would rather think about Eric. Eric had been angry too, but he was a thing of the past now and I didn`t have to worry about him. Which meant I could just enjoy the memories.

Or at least that`s what I thought when I relaxed on my couch, a smile on my lips.

The sound of my doorbell brought me out of Happyland and back to my apartment. I wasn`t expecting anyone and after Bill, I`d grown wary of people coming by without me knowing about it in advance. So I stayed where I was. If they wanted me to open the door they could have called me in advance.

The doorbell rang again. And again.

After the fifth ring, I tip-toed to my door to take a peek out of the spyhole. Maybe it was Alcide with some more fanmail? I`d told him time and time again to call me before he came over but he kept forgetting. I suppose Alcide never really remembered anyone but Alcide. And the only reason why he brought my fanmail home to me was because he wanted me back in the saddle. I was his meal-ticket and he knew I felt bad when I didn`t live up to my promises to my readers. So he made sure I never forgot them.

Alcide couldn`t wrap his brain around the fact that I would have written 10 books if I`d only could. If my brain had worked the way my brain was supposed to work. But it didn`t. And I hadn`t written a word since January.

I held my finger over the hole when I slid the mechanism to the side – just to make sure that whoever was on the other side didn`t see any changes in light in the hole. No need to announce that I was actually home before I knew who was on the other side of the door.

Cautiously I closed one eye, got up on my toes and peeked out with the other eye – and took a step back in shock when I realized who was there.

Doctor Ravenscroft. And behind her - Eric.

"Just open the door, Sookie," Eric`s sister shouted. "I want to check on you."

That was sweet of her, of course, but I had no desire to let Eric into my apartment. Or to let him see the way I looked without a wig or makeup.

The thick layer of makeup that Alcide`s girlfriend Debbie had decided I needed to go to the bookstore hadn`t been pretty, but the bruising I had on my face certainly wasn`t either. You just can`t restore a broken cheekbone or a nose without getting black and blue – no matter what the plastic surgeons told you in their pamphlets.

I counted to ten in the hope that they would go away but when they were still there, I began to unlock all my security locks and opened the door.

And immediately regretted it.

I could take anger in Eric`s face. Admiration, love and horniness, of course, they were all good. I could take indifference too.

But not pity. I did not want his pity.

Pity was exactly what I got. Well, first shock and then pity.

He was quiet all the way into the living room and he even offered to make the coffee. Probably to think up some excuse to leave as quickly as he could.

Pam gave me a thorough examination while Eric was in the kitchen. This time she had all those fancy little doctor things with her so I didn`t have my lamps shoved in my face.

Eric came back carrying my coffeepot and three cups. I wanted to tell him where my cookies were but my voice wasn`t up to the task.

We all sat down. Pam was being efficient, packing up her stuff, but Eric and I just sat there, not knowing what to say.

Finally he broke the silence.

"Why didn`t you tell me?" he asked and gave me a puppy-dog look.

"Like your ass was what she had on her mind when she was struggling for her life?" Pam said in a dry voice.

Actually his ass had been on my mind. A lot. But I knew what she meant and I was thankful for her pointing it out.

"Yeah, but…" Eric started. He didn`t strike me as a man who would lack words but I suppose my situation was just that bad.

"When I came home from the hospital, I was met by a mail that said `fuck you` in the topic…" I started to say.

"How could I have known?" Eric interrupted.

"You couldn`t have known, Eric, but that still didn`t stop you from assuming I was a b… that I`d…." Apparently I lacked words too. How do you explain to your former lover that you were offended by him assuming that you had hurt his feelings on purpose?

"I would have been on the first flight if I had known," he said.

I had no idea what to say to that so I was happy when his sister answered instead.

"You`ve been a dick, Eric. Why don`t you just own up to it and move on? Sookie doesn`t need this kind of aggravation," she said to him in a casual voice. I was beginning to like her a lot.

"Pam!" Eric said, but then he looked at me. "So how can I help you now?" he asked.

How could Eric help me? That question threw me off a bit. I wasn`t very good at relying on anyone`s help so why should I ask someone who`d only known me for a week, if one didn`t count e-mails and phone conversations, for anything?

I wanted to say that the best help would be if he walked out the door but somehow that got stuck in my throat. So I just shrugged.

"I think we should let Sookie get some rest," Pam said and got up. "Is it okay if we check in on you tomorrow?" she asked.

"Tomorrow?" Eric exclaimed. "We`re only here for two weeks. We can`t wait until tomorrow. Can we come back tonight, Sookie?"

"Tomorrow will be fine," I answered Pam with a smile.

"Great!" she said, showing me all those pretty teeth of hers. "And you know, if you want an older and more mature version of that." She pointed at Eric. "One without testosterone," she added. "I would love to take you out on a date."

"Pam! For fuck`s sake!" Eric shouted.

"See," she pointed at Eric. "Testosterone." Then she pointed at herself, totally calm and with a huge smile on her face. "No testosterone."

I couldn`t help laughing. It was the first real laughter I had had in ages and it did me a world of good.

"I thought women had testosterone too," I said when I could breathe again.

"Damn," Pam grinned. "You know too much."

And with that she shoved her brother out of the door and closed it behind her.

* * *

**A/N:**

I hope you liked this chapter and would love to hear your opinions.

I`m so amazed with how quickly we assume our friends and even our loved ones are doing something bad on purpose – just to be mean to you. When I wrote this chapter I was watching a show on TV where a guy was waiting for his future wife to arrive on plane from Russia. When it took her an hour or more to get through customs, he immediately assumed that she`d just taken the money he`d sent for her plane tickets and was having fun with them back in Russia – while making fun of how naïve he`d been to all her friends. It never even hit him that she was having problems in custom. This was his future wife!

Well, this was great inspiration for this chapter and how quickly we assume that we have been used or tricked.

I want to remind you all of the **Home Sweet Home contest**. Write us a story about any or all of the SVM-characters – only bring them home to your country or your home town. I proudly host this contest with **Suki59** and you can follow it on Twitter **[at]HSHcontest**

And if you`re fast, you can still send an entry to the **Saint Eric contest**. Write a story about how perfect Eric isn`t or an ironic story singing praises to his perfections. Make Sookie an angel or a devil. **Peppermintyrose** is hosting this contest and you can follow it on Twitter **[at]Saint_Eric**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N:**

You guys make me smile with your great comments to this story. Yes, Eric is not a perfect hero in this story. Not at all. But I hope he`s a credible one. Because who`s ever met a man without flaws, right? And yet we love them

If **Rascalthemutant** flunks it`s all my fault for sending her both a chapter of this story and a chapter of **Dead without a Work Permit** at the same time. I`m very grateful for her hard work on my stories!

* * *

**EPOV**

"What the hell was that all about, Pam?" I asked my sister when we were standing on the busy sidewalk. New Yorkers walking by us made sure we knew what they thought of us stopping their straight way from A to B. "_This is testosterone and this is not_", I said in a pretend-female voice.

"She needed a laugh," Pam answered as if that explained anything.

"At me?" My voice got a little louder.

Pam stopped and I stopped too. "You`re not the center of the universe, Eric. Grow up! You`re freaking 26 years old and you`re acting like a kid. Sookie`s been through hell and all you can think of is that she laughed at you."

"Yeah, but…" I wasn`t sure how to finish my sentence – only that I was mad at my sister.

"You need to make a choice, Eric," she continued.

"What kind of choice do I have to make? Whether I want to disown you or not?" Yeah, I was pissed.

Pam shook her head like a mother shakes her head at a child who asks for cookies just before dinner.

"Jesus, Eric. Were you even present in that apartment up there? Did you look at Sookie?" she asked.

"Yes, of course I looked at her. It was awful what happened to her," I said. What the hell did Pam want?

"Did you even ask her what happened to her?"

What was wrong with Pam? Of course, I didn`t ask her because… because… "I figured she would have told me if she`d wanted me to know," I said. Yeah, that was why I hadn`t asked her. It had nothing to do with me being angry at Sookie. No way.

"She probably didn`t want you to know just as she didn`t want you to see her like that. That doesn`t mean you couldn`t have shown some concern."

"I was concerned. I felt like shit seeing her like that. I mean, she`s…" I stopped. I wasn`t sure what she was to me. Of course, Pam picked up on that like a shark smelled a drop of blood.

"She`s what? The love of your life? The mother of your future babies? The one and only?" Pam said, her mouth turned into a lopsided smile.

"Yeah," I said without even convincing myself.

"Or was she a great fuck and you hoped for some more smooth sex with a woman who would never demand that you walk her down the aisle and give her pretty babies?"

I wanted to stomp my feet or shout at Pam but I was pretty sure that would only be interpreted as childish behavior. So I pretended to listen to her and to give her words some thought, as ludicrous as they were.

Of course Sookie wasn`t just an easy fuck for me. I`d traveled over the Atlantic for her, for Christ's sake. If I wanted an easy fuck, I could have picked one of the pretty nurses in my class. They were willing enough.

Maybe marriage had never been on my mind when I thought of Sookie but so what? That wasn`t proof of anything. I was only 26. What 26-year-old thinks of marriage?

I liked Sookie for who she was and because the Christmas we`d had together had been one of the best of my life. I hadn`t really thought much about the future for Sookie and me but if she`d felt like putting a turkey in the oven for Thanksgiving, I would have booked a ticket immediately. It was an American tradition I`d always been curious about.

And sure I`d wanted to fuck Sookie from now 'til kingdom come. That was a good thing, wasn`t it? I mean, fucking was off the table. I wasn`t stupid. Sookie was traumatized and I wasn`t about to jump her bones now.

I doubted she would have wanted me to anyway. She hadn`t looked at me twice when I was in her apartment. Pam had been the center of her attention. Not me.

"What does it matter what she was to me? It`s all gone anyway," I said, making my voice sad to stop Pam`s attacks. I never went down the road of self-pity but right now I would do anything to stop Pam and her angry green eyes.

But apparently Pam had her sneakers aimed at a nice kick to the groin. My groin.

"You little piss-ant. A woman you had no problems charming into your bed has had her life turned upside down by some fuck who decided to rearrange her face and break her skull too." Pam took a deep breath and what I felt now was close to fear. My own sister would have killed me on the spot if there hadn`t been a law against it. "And you whine over the fact that a woman you`ve known for a week can`t satisfy your needs anymore?" she shouted.

"Fuck you, Pam," I shouted back and was happy my long legs could bring me away from her fast and efficiently.

What was wrong with her? Couldn`t she see it from my perspective? Sookie had been special. She`d been the first woman that saw me for who I was. Who`d treated me like more than just a handsome guy she could brag about or a great lay she could make her best friends jealous over never having had (well, they`d probably had me too, but that was besides the point).

I was never just Eric. Eric, the dedicated nurse. Eric, the fun guy who would buy Christmas ornaments the day before Christmas because he wanted to give his lover a real Christmas. Eric, the guy who would open his home to a stranger and treat her like a close friend just after having met her. Eric, the…

Eric, the man. I was never just Eric, the man, to anyone. Not until I`d met Sookie.

But what was I to her?

I hadn`t given it much thought when she visited me. I`d thought we`d have time. We would see each other again and could go from there. And then she`d stopped writing back and that was easy too. Anger is very easy. You don`t have to question yourself when you're angry.

But now I was embarrassed. Yes, that was the feeling I had deep inside and I hated it.

I had been so angry with Sookie and she`d been fighting for her life. That was so… And now I felt pity, which definitely wasn`t what I wanted to feel towards her.

Fuck, this was complicated.

I wanted fun. Did that make me a bad person? I never wanted to hurt Sookie. On the contrary. I wanted her to have fun too. I wanted her to be happy and that wasn`t something I cared about when it came to many people.

I`d sat down in one of the many diners in New York and had ordered a huge stack of pancakes without even realizing it. So what if it wasn`t breakfast-time? That was the good thing here – you could get what you wanted, when you wanted it. Not like at home where people would look at you funny if you ordered breakfast in the afternoon.

I tried to sort out my thoughts and when I pressed that rewind-button on my inner iPod I kept coming back to the thought that I wanted Sookie to be happy. I really did. And maybe my frustration came from the fact that I didn`t have a clue to how I was going to make that happen.

Or maybe I was just an asshole who couldn`t accept facts as they were. Yeah, that was definitely an option.

I shoved a few more pancakes into my mouth. They didn`t taste as good as the ones Pam and I had had yesterday, but they filled my stomach. Not in that good way a full dinner would have, but at least I wasn`t hungry anymore.

And maybe that was how I`d been with girls? Yeah, I was getting deep on myself. Maybe I`d always just satisfied my basic needs for something soft and sweet and now I needed to chew on a steak instead?

Oh, bad metaphor. Sookie wasn`t a freaking steak. But she was more than a pancake – even the great American ones.

I wasn`t shallow. I`d lived a shallow life, yes, but I wasn`t a shallow person. I`d had pain in my life and I`d dealt with it. Not many guys my age had had to bury their parents. Or had become nurses. I had a heart. I`d just never used it that much.

A lot of thoughts started roaming my brain. Some of them gave me hope. Some made me want to run all the way to JFK, screaming, and beg for a seat on the first flight home. But the main thought was that I wanted to do something for Sookie. Be something for her. And I was pretty sure that I was altruistic about it.

Pretty sure.

I dialed Pam`s number. She didn`t answer it first and I wasn`t sure if it was because she was looking through that stupid handbag of hers after the cell phone or if she didn`t want to talk to her little brother.

But after the seventh ring, she finally answered her phone. "Did you grow up?"

"Yeah, and hello to you too, Pam," I answered in a wry tone.

"So what`s your answer?" she asked.

"To what?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Meet me at the hotel, Eric. This is serious business."

Twenty minutes later we were facing each other, Pam on her own bed and me on the other one.

Pam took my hands, which is never a good sign. You just don`t want your sister to touch you. Not because it`s creepy or incestuous, because it isn`t – not with Pam. But because if your sister touches you, really touches you, then it`s because she has something bad to say to you. Or because she`s drunk. You don`t want either. Right now I would have settled for a drunk Pam, but she was sober as a nun without altar wine.

"What do want with Sookie, Eric?" she asked, her face very serious.

I gave it a few seconds` thought. "I want to help her," I said. "I`m just not sure how." I hadn`t planned on saying that last thing out loud but my sister was holding my hands and somehow that made me want to be honest with her.

"Why?" she asked.

I chewed on it a bit. Then I said the only thing that was true. "I`m not sure. I just know I want to help her."

Pam gave me a thin-lipped smile. "Good. If you`d said you wanted to help her because you loved her or something like that, I would have gotten you on the first plane home."

"Why?" Sometimes I didn`t get my sister at all.

"If you`d said you loved Sookie you would either be lying to me or to yourself and she would be the one paying the price."

"Why would it be so impossible for me to love her?"

"Because you`re just not one of those guys who falls in love instantaneously. Which is a good thing. Love that grows slowly is stronger," she explained. "But you do like her?"

"Yes, I like her," I said. Was she being stupid on purpose?

"As a person, I mean. She`s got a hot body and I can see how you could be attracted to her."

"I freaking like her, OK? Yes, I would love nothing more than to be able to fuck her from here to next Sunday but that`s not going to happen, now is it? And I still want to help her."

"You want to be with her? Not just to help her out? You want to be in her company?" Pam asked.

"What the hell is with the twenty questions? I like Sookie. I liked her back at Christmas and I like her now. It`s a load of shit that she has to go through what she`s going through, but I want to help her. Because I like her."

"Good. Just checking to see that there wasn`t some kind of Floyd Nightingale syndrome going on here. You are a nurse, you know. Maybe you felt you had to help her."

"Pam. You know me well enough to realize that I`m not the sort of guy you can guilt into helping you. I`ve had enough girls trying, you know. I help if I like someone. If I don`t like a person, then why help?"

"That`s nice from a future nurse," Pam deadpanned.

"Yeah, like you play doctor with all the `my wife doesn`t understand me` alcoholics you run across."

"Fair enough." Pam nodded and finally let go of my hands.

This was how Pam started talking to me like an adult. No, like a fellow practitioner in healthcare. She told me about Sookie`s injuries, from what she could see. And more importantly, she told me about the psychological side of the trauma Sookie had been through. I swallowed hard a few times and also felt like a moron for treating Sookie the way I`d treated her, but then I figured it was time to look forwards.

I wasn`t going to be Sookie`s knight in shining armor. No, I was going to be her friend. I`d never really been a friend like that to anyone before, but I would certainly do my best.

Why? Because I liked Sookie. I hung on to that as if it was the last truth in the world. I liked Sookie.

The next morning Doctor Ravenscroft and Nurse Northman rang the doorbell to Sookie`s apartment. But it was Pam and Eric who walked in. Yes, we looked for ways we could help Sookie physically but it turned out American doctors and nurses had done their job and done it well.

Time was the only thing that could help Sookie heal physically. But mentally, time worked against her. And I could understand why when she finally told us what had happened. That little prick Bill who I`d seen buy a Christmas tree with his lover, had not accepted the fact that Sookie could live without him – even if he could live without her.

Something very primal came up in me and I wanted to throw him off the roof or bury him with the fish, but apparently he was being taken care of by the judicial system. And apparently he wouldn`t just get the slap on the wrist like our courts would have given him. We were talking years of imprisonment.

He hadn`t been sentenced yet but Sookie`s lawyers had assured her that her ex-husband would be seeing the inside of a prison cell for a very long time.

I`d never been a believer in long prison sentences but now I did a silent cheer for the American system where they basically locked people up and threw away the key. I didn`t want Bill out in the streets any time soon. Or outside Sookie`s door.

Pam was being her efficient and very charming self. She made Sookie laugh – which I failed miserably at. I just couldn`t find anything funny to say.

So I stayed quiet and watched The Pam Ravenscroft-show. It was a fun show and I was glad she was there to cheer Sookie up because I was the most boring person on this planet. I spent most of the first hour staring at Sookie, wishing I could swing my magic wand (no not _that_ magic wand) over her and heal her.

To be honest - I felt like a fool. I was entirely useless and had begun to wonder what I was even doing there when Pam suddenly got up.

"I`m meeting Bella, you know," she told me as if she had a friend in New York by that name. The only Bella I`d ever come across was the dog we had when I was a kid. I`d brought it home and Pam had ended up being the one who`d had to walk it. "Maybe you could cook something for Sookie?"

"Uhm, sure," I said. I couldn`t meet Sookie`s eyes for fear that she would tell me she could do her own cooking. I wanted to do something. Be useful.

I went to the kitchen as soon as I heard the door close behind Pam, glad that Sookie didn`t seem to object. We`d bought plenty of ingredients and I immediately began to cut the salmon we`d bought and pour cream and milk in a kettle. I was the one who`d thought about the salmon. I wanted to bring Scandinavia to New York. To Sookie.

I was so busy cutting the carrots and leeks and didn`t hear Sookie entering the kitchen. This was why I dropped the knife on the floor when she coughed behind me. It made Sookie laugh and even if I would much rather have her laugh at my incredibly funny jokes, I would gladly have thrown all her cutlery on the floor if that could cheer her up.

"I think it`s enough to have one person injured here," she said between giggles.

"Yeah," I said. I couldn`t come up with any smart replies.

"So you`ve decided to cook for me?" she asked.

"Yeah." I mentally kicked myself. Two "Yeahs" in a row?

"Why?"

I turned around to see her facial expression. Was she accusing me of something? No, Sookie`s face was neutral.

"I guess I felt you needed a decent meal," I said, though that wasn`t the whole reason. But how could I explain that I wanted a magic wand and salmon soup was the only alternative I could think of?

"You know what I mean, Eric."

"Yeah," I said. Three "yeahs" in two minutes – there had to be a prize for that.

"And…" she prompted.

I put down the knife I`d just picked up and looked at her. "I can`t explain it, Sookie. I just want to cook you some salmon soup and be here while you eat it."

Sookie nodded as if she understood. If that was the case she should explain it to me because I sure as hell didn`t.

After having eaten the soup we sat down in her living room. I wasn`t sure if she wanted me to leave but figured she would tell me if she did, so I sat down and poured her some of the coffee I`d made.

Since Sookie`s eyesight left a bit to be desired, we couldn`t watch TV. I felt a certain responsibility to, no, I wanted to entertain her so I searched my brain for something I could talk about. This was why I ended up telling her Scandinavian fairytales.

I started out with Asbjørnsen and Moe but soon I was telling her about The Little Mermaid – in the original version by Hans Christian Andersen. She didn`t know that Disney had changed the ending of and liked the original one much better. Well, I didn`t exactly leave her much choice. I had wanted to dig up Mr. Disney from his grave and slap him ever since Pam had forced me to watch the crappy version he`d made.

"Disney completely missed the point," I explained. Sookie smiled. It might have been because she thought I was slightly weird, being so agitated over The Little Mermaid but at least I got her to smile. "In the original version the prince hardly noticed the mermaid because she couldn`t talk. He didn`t want another beauty who just smiled and batted her eyes."

"The mermaid ended up dying?" Sookie asked.

"She became foam on the waves," I explained.

"And you like this fairytale?"

"I like the original," I said. "The movie can burn for all I care. But I like the moral in the original."

"That a woman becomes foam on the waves if a man does not want her?"

"What? No." I hadn`t looked at it that way. "No, that you can`t find love just by being beautiful. You have to have something else to offer."

"Like what?" she wondered.

"I don`t know. I mean, what do you want from a man? Is it enough that he`s sexy?" I regretted asking the question just after it had left my mouth. It was a little too close to home – or so I realized when I heard it myself.

Sookie`s face rarely told me what she was thinking or feeling but for a moment a shadow of sadness glided over it. It was gone so quickly that I wasn`t sure I`d seen it, but my body reacted before I did. I went to her couch and sat next to her. Then I pulled her into my chest, turned and lay back, with her on top of me. I managed to get my long legs up on the couch and pulled hers with me.

It was just me and Sookie, her on top of me and me comforting her. I liked it.

I held her there for a long time and had started to wonder if she`d fallen asleep when I felt something wet on my chest.

I came from a culture where even men were expected to have a good cry from time to time, but I lacked the Scandinavian crying-gene. I hated crying and I certainly never did it myself. So when I heard Sookie sob into my shirt, I had to restrain myself so I didn`t squirm under her. Or run out the door.

Instead I stroked her hair.

After a few more sobs, she got up and looked miserable. Well, she looked miserable even before she`d been crying but now she looked worse.

"Thank you for cooking me dinner, Eric. That was very sweet of you." She tried to smile.

My heart swelled. I`d done something good for Sookie and she was thanking me for it. She even thought I was sweet.

Then it hit me and it hit me hard. I`d wanted Sookie to like me again. I`d wanted her gratitude. Maybe even her admiration. And now I felt like an ass. I should have been there for her, not me.

"Yeah," I said. Apparently that was all I could say to Sookie today. Then I gave myself a kick in the butt. "Can I come back tomorrow?"

She looked down for what seemed like hours. Then she nodded and I felt 20 kilos lighter.

Tomorrow I would do better. Well, I would try anyway. It wasn`t like I could grow perfect overnight.

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**A/N:**

Yes, Eric is no knight in shining armor. But he`s trying.

I hope you liked this chapter!

I also hope I can convince some of you to write a story, using the SVM characters but placing them in your country/home town. I`m co-hosting **the Home Sweet Home contest** with **Suki59** and we are looking forward to your story! **www . fanfiction . net/u/2623209/HomeSweetHome**

Do you want to talk to me about my story **Dead in Denmark** (or anything else, really) you`re always welcome to send me a PM or tweet me. But you could also go here **Fangreaders (dot) blogspot (dot) com** on **March 16th** because they have invited me in to talk about my very first story. I`m very flattered!


	5. Chapter 5

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents – Chapter 5**

**A/N:** All your great reviews please me so much. I`m very happy that you`ve joined me on this little roller-coaster of emotions.

Some of you asked me for the original Little Mermaid and here it is: hca . gilead . org . il/li_merma . html (remove breaks). I think it`s very beautiful.

I want to thank **Rascalthemutant** for reading this and correcting my mistakes even if she`s very busy with her school. I appreciate it very much.

These characters are not mine. They belong to **Charlaine Harris**. I just love playing with them.

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**Chapter 5**

**SPOV**

I took a deep breath when Eric left my apartment. He`d been so very nice and helpful, and I had enjoyed every moment of it. Well, not the crying into his shirt bit, but I wasn`t going to think about that.

My life consisted of enough soul-searching as it was, pondering over my marriage with Bill and how I could have been oblivious to all the little signs I`d had throughout the years. How I could not see this coming.

I was not going to ponder over Eric. I was going to enjoy his company for however long I had it.

I knew Eric would be leaving soon and that I would probably never see him again, but I didn`t want to think about that. I enjoyed his voice, his help, his smile. I could even enjoy a few hidden peaks at his butt in those well-fitting jeans. It seemed my eyesight improved every time Eric had his back to me.

Eric wasn`t a nurse yet, but he would be a great one when he graduated. And for the time being I could enjoy his training – and his person.

I was very close to falling for Eric when I celebrated Christmas and New Year`s with him. And I had caught myself planning a future with him more than once, when we`d e-mailed and talked on the phone. After all, I could write my books anywhere in the world and a nurse could work pretty much anywhere too. It shouldn`t be a problem for either of us to relocate.

Now I knew how silly those thoughts had been, of course. What 26-year-old would want to spend his life with a 39-year-old even if she`d been of good health? And now I was of anything but good health. I didn`t even have my good looks anymore.

Eric came by the next morning before I had eaten breakfast. I`d barely had time to make myself a cup of coffee when he entered my apartment carrying a bag full of breakfast treats. He set the table and to my surprise I was actually hungry. Very hungry. My stomach growled and I ate his bagels, fruits and buns as if I hadn`t eaten for weeks.

"I`ll bring more tomorrow," Eric said when I almost licked my plate.

I smiled, not because he would bring me more food, but because he would come back the next day.

"It`s a nice change to eat real food. It`s just not the same when it comes in a tube," I smiled.

"I could run it through your blender for you, you know," he deadpanned. "Mix it all and get that lovely special beige color."

I laughed. "It would lack that very special feeling of having your food fed to you through a huge tube down your nose. Nothing says `Bon Appétit` like a tube in your nose."

"I could do that too. I am a nurse, you know," he winked. "Your wish is my command when it comes to tubes through noses."

"Good to know. But for now I think I`ll prefer to put my teeth to use." I showed him the teeth in question and tapped my finger on them.

"I have other skills," he said with a smile.

"Oh, I know, Eric." I hadn`t meant for it to sound like an innuendo but when I heard it leave my mouth, it definitely had extra meaning.

Eric grinned and the room turned electric. Or maybe what was just me lusting for that handsome blonde in my apartment. I had some absurd reactions to Eric`s grin – the most absurd one being that I wanted to kiss him.

I chided myself. I should enjoy whatever Eric offered and I shouldn`t ruin it by wanting more than he could or would give. The image I met in the mirror, even with my poor eyesight, told me that I could not be the object of anyone`s lust. My scalp looked like a plucked hen, the two scars shining purple. And my face, well, I tried not to look too closely when I brushed my teeth.

Eric looked as if he was going to say something when the doorbell rang. I figured it would be Pam and though I`d come to like her, I couldn`t help feeling a little pang of disappointment. I wanted to be alone with Eric, silly me.

"Let me open the door," Eric said and got up. He was smiling. No, he was grinning. I figured he was happy to see his sister again. Happy about not being alone with the responsibility of taking care of me. I could understand that. My scars looked scary and who wouldn`t be nervous about me getting another blackout?

I heard voices and then Eric came back into my living room. But it wasn`t Pam who was trailing behind him. A very tall and stunning woman, carrying a tool case and a small suitcase, came into my living room.

She smiled at me and I smiled back. There was something about her that made me like her instantly, though I should have felt intimidated to have such a beautiful woman in my apartment when I was currently self-conscious about my looks.

"I`m Claudine," she said. "I`m here to fix your hair."

"Excuse me?" I said. Had I booked a hair dresser and forgotten about it? I looked at Eric for an explanation but he just shrugged.

"Pam found her," he said. "She said you hated the wig."

"I do, but…" I started.

"Claudine here is an expert on hair extensions and weaving smaller wigs into people`s hair to cover bald spots. Pam figured it would do you a world of good." Eric smiled but his eyes carried insecurity. Was he afraid I would feel insulted?

"Well, that was very sweet of Pam," I said. "And you. I`m sure you had something to do with it too."

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "Pam did all the work. I merely told her I thought you have beautiful hair."

"I _had_ beautiful hair," I corrected. I`m not a vain person, but I`d always been proud of my hair. And now I wasn`t.

"Sookie. Your hair is beautiful," Eric said, his voice very intense. "And now it will be even better."

I nodded, grateful for his little lies to make me feel better.

Claudine sat me down on a chair and went to work. At a hair salon I would have had a mirror so I could see what she was doing but now I could only feel her careful fingers work their way through my hair, and picking up tiny locks of blond hair from the table. I would have thought it would be painful since she worked so close to my scars, but her touch was light and felt nothing but pleased.

Eric had his eyes on my face and my hair the whole time Claudine was working. It was only when she asked for a glass of water he left us, bringing back a glass for me as well.

I kept my eyes closed most of the time, enjoying the pampering and relaxing in Claudine`s capable hands, but every time I opened them I met Eric`s encouraging smile or nod. It made me relax even more.

After what seemed like half an hour, but probably was more like two, Claudine looked at me from all angles and then she gave me a satisfied smile.

"I think you can go look at yourself in a mirror," she said.

"Okay," I answered and got up. I had to take a little side-step because I`d been sitting for so long and lost balance when I got up.

I had to smile at Eric who did a perfect impression of a tiger, jumping from the couch to me in one gliding movement. He had my arm and walked me to the bathroom. As much as I loved having him touch me, it also made me feel like an old lady. I`d held my Gran`s elbow in the exact same way Eric held mine.

I was a bit nervous when we reached the bathroom but the look that met me in the mirror made me smile wider than I had smiled in a long time. My hair looked fantastic. It was just like I`d never had chunks of it pulled out by Bill or parts shaved off at the hospital.

"You`re a miracle worker," I said to Claudine who`d followed Eric and me to the bathroom. When I looked at her, my eyesight got blurry, but it wasn`t because my eyes decided to fail me. No, I had tears in my eyes. Happy tears. Grateful tears. "Thank you," I said to both Eric and Claudine and was rewarded with a hug from both.

Claudine packed her things and left my apartment - and Eric and I were alone again.

"Do you feel like getting some fresh air?" he asked.

I laughed. "I don`t think you`ll find fresh air anywhere in New York."

"We could go to Central Park. Take a cab there and go for a walk there. What do you say?"

Suddenly a walk in Central Park seemed very tempting.

"I`d love to," I answered. "I just want to cover my bruises."

"Do you want me you do it?" Eric asked.

I couldn`t help smiling. "Do you have a lot of experience with make-up, Eric?"

"You mean I`ve never told you about my secret identity as a drag queen? I`m the infamous, the sexy, the one and only…" he paused. "Tess Tosterone!" Eric shouted it in a high pitched voice. He winked at me – 20 times in a row and I could almost imagine long fake eyelashes glued onto his eyelids. Yeah, he would make a great drag queen. All six feet, four inches of him.

"I think I would have remembered," I laughed. "Well, Tess, I`m all yours," I said and handed him my few items of makeup. I figured it couldn`t get any worse than what Debbie Pelt had done to my face.

I closed my eyes and for the second time that day, I enjoyed someone`s careful fingers touching me and making me prettier. Only, this time the fingers belonged to Eric and that made the experience all the more enjoyable.

"Ta-daaaa," Eric said when he`d finished. I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. It wasn`t half bad. The lipstick was a bit on the slutty red side – it was one I`d gotten as a present from my old friend Arlene who thought I needed some colors but I had never worn it. Trust Eric to find it. But apart from that, I looked like a human being again.

The scars were covered up. At least the ones on the outside.

An hour later we were in Central Park, just strolling about. From time to time I would stumble a little because of my poor balance or my eyesight going on and off, but Eric was there every time, holding on to my arm when I needed it.

I knew whatever time I had with Eric now would come to an end – if not sooner, then when he went back to Scandinavia. But I`d decided I wouldn`t think about that. I would also not think about how much I inconvenienced him or if he helped me out of guilt or pity.

I had more than enough negative thoughts roaming my brain. I wasn`t looking for new things to feel bad about.

I would enjoy it for as long as I could and then I would daydream about it afterwards.

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**A/N:**

I`m sure many of us would like those daydreams :-)

Have a nice weekend!


	6. Chapter 6

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents – Chapter 6**

**A/N: **

Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, PMs and comments. They made me smile!

I also want to thank my lovely beta **Rascalthemutant** for the job she`s doing on this story. And yes, Rascal – it was _that_ Anita *wink*

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**Chapter 6**

**EPOV**

I`d never thought a simple walk through Central Park could be such an amazing experience. After all it was just a park, not the nature I was used to back home.

The sun was out and even if there was a slight chill in the air, it felt like the spring we were never getting in my wintery home country.

I wished I`d brought my sunglasses. Not just because I had to squint because I got sun in my eyes but because I wanted to look great when Sookie was around. And I looked incredibly hot wearing sunglasses.

Then it hit me – hadn`t Sookie mentioned problems with her eyes?

I stopped and stepped in front of her. She turned her face up to look at me, a questioning smile on her lips, and suddenly I was kissing her instead of checking her eyes. It was just a small kiss and I immediately pulled away.

"I`m so sorry," I said. "I didn`t mean to."

Sookie was gracious enough to say that it was okay, but I cursed myself the next five minutes. What kind of brute was I?

"I wanted to check how your eyes were doing in the bright sun," I explained. I wanted her to know that I had had honorable intentions when I stopped her even if my stupid lust got in the way.

"Oh," she said in a voice I couldn`t decipher. "They`re fine. I think the sun is good for me, actually."

That made me grin like a fool and I tried to look away so she wouldn`t see it. I`d done something right for Sookie. When I had finally managed to un-grin I looked at Sookie sideways and noticed roses in her cheeks despite the makeup I`d been the very unqualified master of.

I`d never put makeup on anyone before but the result wasn`t half bad. I was especially pleased with the lipstick. It looked great on her. Sexy.

I had just started contemplating whether I had any of the red lipstick on my lips from the kiss and how I didn`t want to remove it if I did, when a woman walked over to Sookie. She was probably a couple of years younger than Sookie and the type you wouldn`t notice in a crowd. Actually you wouldn`t notice her at all.

"Are you Sookie Stackhouse?" she asked.

Sookie smiled, but I could feel her tense against my arm. "Yes," she replied in a voice that told me that Sookie didn`t know the woman.

"Is it true that Anita has found a new vampire?" the woman asked in a voice full of accusation and I looked at her in wonder. Why was she talking about vampires and who was Anita? I`d just written the woman off as crazy when it hit me that Anita was the heroine in Sookie`s vampire-series. "Anita and Stefan belong together!" the woman shouted and I was back to thinking she was crazy.

"You`ll have to read my next book…" Sookie started saying.

"NO! It`s all over the net that you`ve given Anita a new man in your new book. You have to change that! Stefan means everything to me."

The woman was obviously not in her right mind so I started pulling Sookie forwards, away from the crazy lady.

Suddenly Sookie fell into me and when I turned my head I saw that the woman had pushed Sookie. I never hit women, but I was very close to making this one pay for pushing my Sookie. What was she thinking?

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked. My voice may have been both loud and angry. Even menacing.

"Stay out of this," she hissed at me and was about to go back to her verbal abuse of Sookie.

"Get a life!" I shouted. "Sookie writes books. If you can`t handle the way she writes them then stop reading them."

I wanted to say a whole lot more, but felt Sookie sag against me and knew I had to get her away from the craziness as quickly as possible.

The woman kept ranting about Anita and Stefan being perfect partners and how much they meant to her but she stayed behind when we walked away from her. Outside the gates of Central Park I waved for a taxi, but Sookie stopped me.

"No. I don`t want her to ruin the day. Let`s find a café someplace," she said.

"Sure," I said and started searching the streets for a place to sit but couldn`t find any.

Then Sookie took charge and pulled me down a smaller street and to a café I wouldn`t have found if I`d been by myself. We went in and sat down.

"What was that all about?" I asked when we`d placed our orders to the waitress.

Sookie sighed. "I made a mistake," she said. "Just before I was … Back in January I gave a speech to the fans of my books and I mentioned that they shouldn`t feel too sure that the heroine would stay with the same man all through the series. I`ve had a few reactions after that."

"But if you think it was a mistake to give your heroine a new love interest, couldn`t you just change it? I mean, the book isn`t published yet, is it?" I had no idea how the publishing business worked.

I knew that she`d started writing on her new book just after she got home from her Christmas with me but she couldn`t have finished it, could she? I faintly recalled her saying that it took months of intensive work to write a book. And surely her publisher would have to work on it too?

Sookie smiled but the smile never reached her eyes.

"No, the book isn`t finished. But I`d had a good start on the writing when I gave that speech. I suppose I was just so pleased with the progress and I didn`t think…" She looked at me. "I don`t regret changing who my heroine is in love with, Eric. Stefan was too possessive and I`d begun to dislike him. He wasn`t right for my heroine. When I visited you I had an epiphany and figured that heroines can break up with their lovers and find new ones just like everyone else."

She smiled again and this time it was a wider smile. A very beautiful smile. I`m not ashamed to admit that my heart did a little fluttering when I saw that smile. I mean, I`m a Scandinavian guy – we`re supposed to be in touch with our emotions, right?

It must have been the smile that stopped my brain from functioning because it took me well over a minute to connect the dots. Sookie had changed the guy her heroine was in love with and she`d done it just after she`d visited me.

I knew Stefan was dark haired, much like Sookie`s ex-husband Bill. Now I found myself wanting to know what the new guy looked like.

"Sooo…" I asked. "What is the new guy called?"

"The new guy?" she looked at me with questions in her eyes.

"Stefan`s replacement, so to speak," I explained.

I wasn`t sure what I`d said because suddenly she looked very awkward. She even blushed.

"Oh, you can`t be interested in my silly writings," she said with a small, but very artificial laughter. "How are your studies coming along?"

I almost told her that I`d had a lot of time to study these last two months, but stopped myself in the last minute. "Fine," I answered. "I look forward to graduating this summer."

"Yes, I can imagine," Sookie said and I felt like I was at some stupid family reunion, talking about unimportant things.

Then I realized Sookie had changed subjects and I hadn`t even noticed.

"I am interested in your books," I said. Normally I wouldn`t be that interested in a couple of vampire books but I could tell there was something there. Something I needed to know. "So what`s his name, this new character?"

Sookie shrugged. "I haven`t decided yet. For now I`ve called him Spike, you know like Spike in Buffy, but it doesn`t fit him very well."

I remembered Buffy but wasn`t Spike that skinny Brit? I had to check on Youtube.

I nodded. "How far are you in the book?"

"Not that far, really, but I have it all outlined and the rest should be easy." She looked out of the window. "Except…"

I knew what she meant. She couldn`t write because of the injuries she`d suffered. I debated for a moment if I should ask her about the injuries and how they kept her from writing but figured she would tell me if she wanted me to know.

I wasn`t even sure I wanted to know. I was good at fixing things. At taking her out in the sunshine and maybe putting a smile on her lips. But talking about painful stuff? That was not my forte.

So I just nodded to let her know I understood.

Our food was served and we ate in silence. It wasn`t an uncomfortable silence and I liked watching her eat. With Pam there was constant chatting. I didn`t mind that but I preferred sitting here in silence with Sookie.

Seeing her put the bites of meat into her mouth was … well, I didn`t have words to describe it but I liked it. I`d never thought I`d one day stare admiringly at a girl while she was chewing on her food, but I found myself doing it now.

She didn`t even put on a show like some of the girls I`d known. They would lick their forks and make little sounds as if the veal brought them halfway to Orgasmland and then they would bat their eyes at me as if it was me and not the veal that put them in such a state. I`d always found it ridiculous but I`d never complained because I`d usually ended up both giving and receiving the pleasure they had suggested.

Yeah, always looking out for my own interests.

Only now I was just as concerned with Sookie`s as my own. And I kind of liked that feeling.

I spent the evening with my laptop in my lap, trying to find information about Sookie`s next book. Those fansites were a mess and I had a hard time navigating.

Half the posts were praising this Stefan-guy to the sky – saying how much they`d like to have him in their lives. Some were pretty descriptive about what they would do to Stefan if they had him in their bed, their shower, on their kitchen counter – well, anywhere. A couple of Sookie`s fans, because I assumed they were fans since they were on her fansites, had even found pictures of dark-haired, muscular, sexy and very naked men they would want to play Stefan if the books were ever filmed.

The other half of the posts were bitching about Sookie not letting Anita declare her undying love to Stefan or about Anita being a total bitch and not good enough for poor Stefan. For some strange reason, none of them seemed to think that Anita was too good for Stefan.

But the real bitching started when someone reported that Sookie was going to let Anita leave Stefan. The discussion thread went into a crazy rant after that. I read a lot of stupid, offensive and very weird posts but I finally found the information I was looking for.

Spike was going to be a tall, blond Viking vampire.

"Yesss!" I shouted to myself – feeling a bit juvenile when I heard the word bounce back from the walls.

I couldn't help doing a fist pump too. Sookie was planning on giving her heroine a new man. And that man looked like me.

I grinned.

And I laughed when I checked out Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Youtube. I could see why Sookie wasn`t very happy with the temporary name she`d given the character. At least if he was supposed to look like me. Because the only thing Spike and I had in common was blond hair. Oh, and our sexy charm.

The next morning I was having my usual stack of pancakes. Well, two stacks, actually. I`m a big man, I need to eat.

"What are you grinning over?" a familiar voice said in my ear. Pam sat down on the chair next to mine. "I can`t believe you`re still having pancake-orgasms."

"And good morning to you too, Pam," I said and shoved yet another bite into my mouth.

"So how are things with the patient?" she asked.

I didn`t like Sookie being referred to as a patient. She`d stopped being that to me a long time ago. Well, a couple of days ago at least.

"Fine," I mumbled because the last bite of pancake had been big, even for my mouth. No one had ever claimed Scandinavian men were the epitome of table-mannered.

"Did she like the hair?" Pam wondered.

I couldn`t help smiling when I thought about the transformation. Not as much the transformation of Sookie`s looks but how it seemed to transform her well-being.

"She loved it."

"Did you take pictures of it?" Pam asked.

"Pam. I`m not going to take pictures of Sookie unless she asks me to." I had a feeling Sookie wouldn`t like having her picture taken just now.

"Why not? You`ll need something to remind you of her when you go home, won`t you?" Pam grabbed a piece of my pancake with her fingers and I tried to stab her hand with my fork. The pancakes were _mine._

"I think I may be able to remember her without picture proof," I grunted. I did not want to think about going home.

Pam gave me that big sister look I hated so much. It told me that she could see right through me, read my thoughts and that she knew everything Eric Northman – just because she was a couple of years older than me.

"So what will happen to Sookie when you do leave?" she asked. Trust Pam to point out the big, fucking elephant in the room.

I stuffed my mouth so I couldn`t answer. Yes, if I had wanted, I would have talked with my mouth filled with food – no table-manners, remember? – but now it was a perfect excuse to remain silent. How could I answer Pam`s question?

"If you break her heart, I`m going for your balls," she said and then she got up and left.

"_What about if my heart breaks?" _ I wanted to ask and it startled me so much, I forgot to be snarky back at Pam.

What if Sookie broke my damned heart? No, not Sookie. What if I broke my own heart because I wanted more from Sookie than she could give?

I visited Sookie every day and I stayed with her most of the day. I was surprised that Pam never gave me any grief because I left her alone in New York when I was the one who`d convinced her to join me in the first place. I suppose that woman she hung out with all day, made it easier to accept her kid brother`s shortcomings.

Sookie smiled more and more every day I came by and after a week she gave me the key to her apartment so I could come and go as I wished. That way she didn`t have to listen for the doorbell or even be awake when I came by. Sookie needed a nap from time to time.

It was a very big moment for me because it meant that she trusted me. And I knew that trust was not easy for her. Not now. My fingers were on the key all the way back to the hotel room, making sure it was really there. That Sookie had given it to me.

And that night I toyed with it for hours, trying to remind myself why it would be a terrible idea to give her a surprise visit.

I wanted Sookie. I knew I shouldn`t visit her because she had too many things on her mind to want me. And I respected that – of course I did. But I wanted her.

I wasn`t sure how I wanted Sookie, apart from the obvious, or what I was going to do about it. I just knew that I wanted more than I was getting.

And it was killing me because I shouldn`t want more. I was turning a new leaf, becoming a better version of myself, and that did not include drooling over a woman who needed my help.

The next morning I was so sleep-deprived when I came to Sookie`s apartment I almost forgot that I had her key and my finger was on her doorbell before I managed to stop myself. Luckily my memory kicked in just before I`d pressed the little white knob.

I put Sookie`s key in the keyhole and opened the door. I tried to make some noise so she wouldn`t be startled if she was awake but not enough noise to wake her up if she was asleep.

I opened the door to her living room and found it empty. She wasn`t in her kitchen either. And the door to her bathroom was open, which meant there was only one place she could be. Her bedroom.

The door to Sookie`s bedroom was ajar and I couldn`t help myself – I looked through the opening and found her sleeping on her bed. I knew I shouldn`t but I pushed the door open to get a better look.

It wasn`t as if she was naked or anything – I wasn`t that big a creep. She was wearing her pajamas or nightgown, I couldn`t tell which because of the sheets she had pulled up to her chest.

She looked so good lying on her bed. Yes, one could still tell the bruises and cuts on her face but Sookie was a beautiful woman. No injuries could change that fact.

I pushed away the nasty thought of me being a dirty pig staring at a sleeping woman and instead I walked into Sookie`s bedroom. I wasn`t going to wake her up. I just wanted to be close to her.

Sookie`s bed was large. It looked old, probably a family heirloom or something, and fit her perfectly. Suddenly I couldn`t help myself anymore. I was tired and I wanted to be close to Sookie. So instead of going back to her living room or even leaving her apartment, like I knew I should have, I laid down next to Sookie.

Not close enough to touch her and I was also very careful that I didn`t bounce the mattress too hard.

But I laid my head on her extra pillow, closed my eyes and fell asleep. I may even have smiled.

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**A/N:**

OK – quick test: How many characters from other vampire series have been mentioned in this story by now? :-)

If you want to read more from me, I just posted a new one-shot yesterday. It`s called **Your Body is and Amusement Park Too** and has Eric in a tight pink full-body suit that we call a "condom suit". Enjoy! **www . fanfiction . net/s/6821019/1/Your_Body_is_an_Amusement_Park_Too**


	7. Chapter 7

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 7**

**A/N:**

Thank you for all your great reviews and some of you really knew your vamps! I`m glad it`s not just me reading all those vampire series *cough*.

I also want to thank **Rascalthemutant** for her great efforts at whipping my story into something readable.

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**SPOV**

I felt it the mattress shift but I knew it was Eric and though I was surprised that he went to sleep next to me, it made me smile too. When I heard him snore, I turned around and looked at him.

In romantic comedies I would have screamed when I realized there was a man in my bed, making him jump in surprise and fall to the floor and then I would be staring at him with my sheets pulled up to my chin.

This was no romantic comedy, though, and I hadn`t even been asleep when Eric came to my apartment and started calling out my name. I had just been so tired. So very tired. And since I hadn`t had to stay up in case Eric needed to be let in – not now that he had a key to my apartment – I`d gone to lie down.

I hadn`t told Eric about the extent of my injuries - how much they paralyzed me in my daily life and how much I needed to rest because of them – because I`d just wanted to enjoy my time with him and not be that frail and hurt woman I knew I was but hated being.

I wanted to be Sookie Stackhouse.

And now Sookie Stackhouse was enjoying the view of a very handsome man in her bed.

I just wished Sookie Stackhouse had the guts to kiss that man. To touch him.

He was leaving in a few days and I would be alone again with nothing but my memories. I had done my best to secure great memories. But the best of all – having sex with Eric again – well, I just wasn`t sure if that was going to happen.

Eric was so young and right now he was busier being my nurse than my potential lover. Yes, he`d kissed me in Central Park but the Eric I knew from Christmas would not have stopped at a kiss. So the man in my bed was not really the Eric I knew.

And then there was the whole case of me not being sure how I would function sexually now. Bill hadn`t raped me but he`d still hurt me and I had both physical and mental scars that could surprise me if I ever did the horizontal tango with the guy filling my bedroom air with a smell of pancakes (yes, I`d stuck my nose closer to his mouth to make sure he was the reason for the sudden sweet fragrance in the room).

I stared at the ceiling. When had I ever been one to worry about things?

I took a deep breath and figured that if Eric and I had sex before he left, and it was miserable and awful, then so what? Awful sex with Eric would probably be better than no sex and he was going home anyway. It wasn`t as if terrible sex would ruin a budding relationship.

And there was a chance that it wouldn`t be awful.

For two months I`d kept myself alive on the memories of that week in Eric`s apartment. It was time for some new snapshots and movies for my brain. Something to tide me over Bill`s trial. Because that was going to be ugly.

I turned to look at Eric again. Was he really asleep? Or was he pretending like I was when he entered the bedroom?

I let my finger glide down his cheek.

What if he rejected me?

According to "common knowledge" men would never turn down sex. But I knew this was a lie. Of course men could be tired, sick, busy or just not in the mood – just like women.

And sometimes the guy just didn`t want the girl.

Eric kept breathing in the same pace he`d breathed in since he`d fallen asleep. I looked at him to see if he was acting and came to the conclusion that he wasn`t. I pulled my hand back. Maybe it just wasn`t meant to be?

So I got up, went to the kitchen and made some coffee. When it was ready, I poured myself a cup, went to my living room and sat down in the recliner I`d inherited from Gran. I sipped my coffee and emptied my brain. I was good at that.

My cup was empty when Eric appeared in the doorway.

"Do I smell coffee?" he asked, no explanation as to why he`d fallen asleep in my bed.

I nodded at the kitchen and he went to get himself a cup. I could have done with a refill but he didn`t ask me if I wanted one so I walked to the kitchen as well.

I found Eric staring out of my kitchen window, his back to me.

Now in all the sitcoms and series from New York, people have views over Central Park or at least the street they live in. I didn`t. My apartment was small and the view was straight into another building. But it was home. My home.

He did look handsome, standing there. Too handsome, perhaps.

I sighed but made sure it was a soundless sigh. Then I poured myself half a cup of coffee.

"So what do you want to do today?" I said in a cheerful voice.

Eric turned around. "I haven`t made any plans, really. How about we just stay in?"

"We could watch a DVD," I suggested. I wasn`t sure I was up for watching a full movie but I could try. I had to move forward and the only way I could do that, was by trying the things I wasn`t sure I could do.

A smile changed Eric`s face from serious to happy. "Oh, I know just the one, then. I`ve been meaning to get it for you as a farew… well, I wanted to buy it for you and now I will. He walked into my living room, put on his shoes and jacket and then turned to me. "I`ll be half an hour." He thought for a moment. "No, it may be an hour. I keep getting lost in the subway."

I laughed. "I`ll go with you. Can`t have you lost in New York."

"No, it`s ok, Sookie. I want to surprise you."

And with that he was gone.

"Okay," I said to myself and then I went to my computer, turned it on and was pleased when I managed to answer a few e-mails.

I clicked on the story I`d begun to write before Bill`s attack and smiled at my detailed outline. Maybe I could print it out in huge letters, read it and let my imagination run wild? That was always the best part of the writing process and for the first time in ages, I felt up for it.

After the printer had done the job I`d ordered it to do, I grabbed the sheets of paper and a red pen and sat down in my recliner. I read the first two paragraphs, closed my eyes and let the story run through my brain, opened them again and wrote down notes. I`d already written that part but made a few additions. My new vampire hero needed a female friend who could keep him in check or he would become too cocky.

I`d already decided not to make him the typical romance hero who falls in love with the heroine the moment he sees her and pines when he can`t have her. Giving him a close female friend who wasn`t his sister would break all the rules.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," I said to myself even if it made me sound like an old lady.

It was as if I gathered new strength because the next thing I knew, I was sitting in from of my computer, writing a scene where my heroine Anita meets the new character Cat – the former lover and now best friend of … I stopped. I still hadn`t found a good name for my new hero.

I chewed on my pencil. My hero was tall, blond and probably Scandinavian. He couldn`t exactly be called Jean-Claude or Mencheres.

Then I threw down my pencil and started typing.

"_This is my friend Cat," __**Eric**__ said in that deep voice of his._

I giggled like a school girl. Yes, my hero looked like Eric. He might as well be called Eric. I searched and deleted all the "Spikes" in my story and entered "Eric" instead.

I`d written six pages and was thoroughly pleased with myself when I heard the door open and close. I quickly saved what I`d written and turned off my computer. No point in Eric seeing what I`d written. Or how much of an inspiration he was.

He might see it when the book was printed and sold, but probably not. Why would he buy my book? When they were out in the shops, I would be long forgotten. Or, at best, a distant memory. One of the girls Eric had slept with.

Pity-parties weren`t my thing but I was good at being realistic. I had Eric here and now, enjoyed his company and knew what was to come. No reason to be sad about that. Just as I couldn`t bury myself in grief over the years I`d spent with Bill. What was done was done.

Or as the Scandinavian proverb Eric had told me about, said – _what was done was done and what was eaten was eaten_. I liked that proverb and wanted it for my fridge.

I smiled at Eric when he walked into the living room. I was about to tell him about the new pages on my story, but then I saw that he was smiling too and figured my pages could wait.

Not because they weren`t important but because I wanted the pages to be mine, and mine alone, for a little while longer. Maybe I could write a little more later? Maybe some tomorrow as well? My smile grew wider.

"I found it," Eric boomed. Then he pulled out a DVD from the backpack he was carrying.

I squinted to see the title. _Let the Right One In _it said. I looked at Eric.

"It`s the best vampire movie ever made. You have to see it. And this is the original, the Swedish one." Eric pulled me over to the couch and walked over to my DVD-player, eagerness oozing out of every inch of his long body. "They made an American version too and it`s not too bad but you really have to see the original."

I laughed because I was happy and because he was so ecstatic. "Can`t wait," I said though I`d never really had a thing for vampire movies.

I wrote books about vampires but I`d never wanted to see fangs and blood pouring out of my TV. I sat down and swallowed a smile because my DVD-player was situated just low enough for Eric to have to bend down and give me a first class peak at that sexy butt of his. Yes, I was ogling and I wasn`t ashamed to admit it.

Eric got the DVD in and went to the kitchen. When he came back he picked up the remote, pressed "English subtitles" and then he put down two empty glasses on the table. He sat down next to me on the couch, opened his backpack and pulled out a bottle.

"We`re watching a Swedish movie so I figured we needed something Swedish to drink. Absolut," he said and held up the bottle.

"Vodka?" I asked.

"And not just any vodka. Absolut is the king of vodkas." He pulled out several bottles of soda and put them on my table.

I`d always figured vodka was vodka and I never liked it much. I was a gin and tonic girl if I drank at all.

"Do you prefer yours with cola, orange juice or tonic?" he asked. "Or do you want it bare?"

"Definitely not bare," I answered. "Maybe with tonic?" At least that would be in the same ballpark as gin and tonic.

"Sure," Eric said with a nod and started pouring vodka.

I`ve never worked in a bar but I had a hard time imagining that vodka-tonic was supposed to be half and half. But when I saw that his own drink was a glass of vodka and just a few drops of cola to give it color, I realized that my drink was probably a grandma-drink in his terms.

Eric grabbed the remote, clicked "play", put the remote down, grabbed his drink and leaned back. When I leaned forward to grab my drink, I noticed the arm that wasn`t currently holding Eric`s drink-until-you-drop drink, was being situated on the back of the couch, behind me.

He wasn`t touching me but I could almost feel the warmth from his arm against my neck when I leaned back. Or maybe I was just imagining the warmth because I wanted his arm closer. I wanted him to touch me.

I took a large sip of my drink, coughed because it was too strong for me, and stared at the screen. A kid came on. I gave Eric a sideways glance. It was a vampire movie with kids? I began to wonder if I could get away with keeping my eyes closed throughout the movie when the kid caught my interest. There was something about him. Insecure in his preteens. All alone. Being bullied.

And then getting a friend. A totally inappropriate friend.

I was just settling into the dawning friendship between the kid and the girl when it changed to a gruesome scene where a guy was strung up and gutted. I pulled my legs up and probably made some distressed sounds because this was when I felt the true warmth of Eric`s arm.

Not only did his arm drop down from the back of the couch and land on my shoulders, but his large hand pulled me into his body. He kissed the top of my head.

"It`s a good movie," he whispered into my hair as if he felt he had to convince me.

"I know," I said and I meant it. It was a strange movie but I knew quality when I saw it.

I settled into Eric`s body and we watched the movie in silence, Eric`s hand making slow circles on my upper arm. Though the movie was great, a large part of my brain was preoccupied with debating whether Eric had put his arm around me because he wanted to protect me or because … he wanted his arm around me.

I thought about how much I wanted to have sex with Eric before he left. And then I placed my hand on his thigh. I didn`t move it but I still felt his breath stop for a few seconds. I hoped it was because he was pleasantly surprised but I kept my hand still, just in case.

I felt my attention on the movie fade and was replaced with me listening to his breath, feeling the heat from his body and wanting more.

So much more.

Suddenly, and before I could even begin to go into any deep discussions with myself about how wrong my actions were, I turned my head and kissed Eric.

My heart dropped when he wasn`t kissing me back. I began to pull back when his arm pulled me closer and then he kissed me.

And what a kiss.

I heard grunts and moans from people dying on my television but I was much more interested in the sounds coming from Eric. And from myself.

For the first time in a long time I felt pure joy. Who would have thought that a few pages written on my book and Eric`s tongue in my mouth could make me so thrilled?

"Oh, Sookie," Eric groaned.

This was when I knew I was going to have sex with Eric tonight. It made me nervous and happy. Happy and nervous. I pulled him closer and told nervous to get lost.

* * *

**A/N**:

I really want to recommend **Let the Right One In**. Both the book and the movie. It`s one of those rare cases where both book and movie are great. Magical even.

I hope you liked this chapter (if I manage to post it – FF is one huge mess these days).

Thursday is the deadline for entries to the **Home Sweet Home Contest**. We already have some great stories. I recommend that you read them and give them great reviews – because they deserve it!


	8. Chapter 8

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 8**

I`m amazed to hear how many of you had already seen the Swedish movie Let the Right One In. It really was a great movie, right?

I love all your comments to this story and I want to thank you for them!

I also want to thank **Rascalthemutant** for reading this and to send her a big hug. She knows why.

* * *

**EPOV**

I was taken completely by surprise when Sookie kissed me. I didn`t mind, of course. I`ve always appreciated it when women showed initiative and I`m fairly used to it too – coming from Scandinavian and all. And looking the way I do.

I double-checked how much Sookie had had from her drink before I kissed her back, not wanting this to be drunk Sookie kissing me now and sober Sookie regretting it in the morning.

She hadn`t had more than a couple of sips, though, so this was not drunk kissing. I then considered the possibility of Sookie just being grateful. Was she kissing me because I`d helped her out? Was she kissing her nurse, so to speak?

I would be thrilled if this was the reaction I would get from all my future patients (yes, I did attend those ethics seminars and yes, I knew it was wrong of me to even think like this – but hey, these are my thoughts and they are nobody`s business but my own) but I wanted more from Sookie. I wanted her to kiss me, to want me and not just be grateful to me.

I held back for several minutes while contemplating the reasons behind Sookie`s kiss. Then I figured that Sookie was a grown-up. A mature woman who could say no if I went too far.

I started kissing her neck to make sure I wasn`t preventing her from stopping me verbally because that`s just the kind of guy I am – responsible and all. Well, I wanted to kiss her neck too. Maybe even mark it a little. Is 26 too old to give someone a hickey?

Sookie never said anything apart from the occasional moan and sigh so I grabbed her butt and pulled her over to straddle me. I kissed her chest and worked my way down to her breasts while pressing her warm body against my groin.

I wanted her so much. I probably should have asked her if she was sure about this but again – Sookie was an adult and I would have stopped if she had told me to. But I didn`t want to ruin this special moment by second guessing her choices. My choices.

I wanted to fuck her. No, I wanted to make love to her. And I wanted it so badly I was almost in pain. In pain because I couldn`t help being afraid Sookie would suddenly stop me. That she would say it was wrong. That we shouldn`t do this.

That she was too scarred from Bill`s attack to want sex with me.

Shit. Maybe she was?

I pulled back and looked her in the eyes, pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek. She smiled at me. That amazing smile I hadn`t seen much of lately. The smile made me want to …

I pulled Sookie closer, grabbed her butt tightly and got up. I loved how she tightened her hold on my neck – not to mention how her legs felt around my hips.

I stumbled towards her bedroom. She could say no and she could stop me anytime but I felt more and more confident she wouldn`t. That sex was on her agenda too.

I half threw her on her bed, half fell down with her in my arms and landed some very sloppy and needy kisses on her. Her hands were in my hair and mine were all over her, unbuttoning whatever was buttoned and groping at everything I could grope.

"Jeans off," Sookie moaned and since I wasn`t sure which jeans she meant, I pulled off both hers and mine. And both our shirts – just to create symmetry. Who wants to be jeans-less and still wear clothes on their upper body? Certainly not me.

I like naked. Always.

Sookie was as sexy as I remembered her. I noticed some changes, some new scars, but all I really saw was the woman I craved so much.

My hands went behind her back and I opened her bra while kissing those lovely breasts of hers. Then my mouth worked its way down her stomach while my hands pulled her panties down. I was just about to let my mouth do its wonders when she stopped me and pulled me back up.

"I want you now," she said.

I was confused at first. What woman would turn down ….? But I quickly regained my footing and grabbed my pants, pulled out my walled and found the condom I always had there.

Sookie took it out of my hands, opened the foil and rolled the condom on me.

I said something and Sookie may have thought it was in my mother-tongue but it was just a string of random letters that bobbled out of my mouth. Who would have thought it was that good to put on a condom? No – to have a condom put on you.

I`m not sure why my mouth kept wanting to ask "_are you sure_?" because there was nothing about her that should make me doubt if she was. And when she pulled me on top of her, I closed down my brain and let my body do what my body wanted to do.

Being between Sookie`s legs was where I had wanted to be ever since she left my apartment to go home in January. And now that I was back, I knew exactly why I had missed it so much. It was where I was supposed to be. Inside Sookie.

I entered her, pulled back and buried myself in her again. And again. And again. It was messy and sloppy and fast and … absolutely perfect.

Sookie was groping, pulling my hair and making all kinds of noises that went straight to my heart. No, straight to my groin.

I wanted Sookie to come, I really did, but soon my own orgasm threw me over the edge and with a loud groan I came so hard. I remembered that orgasm is called "little death" in some languages and it made perfect sense to me.

Or maybe that was just a myth. Who knew? Who cared?

I fell on top of Sookie, panting like an 80-year old trying to catch the bus. I pulled out of Sookie, withdrew the condom without really having the energy to dispose of it but managing to throw it in her wastebasket and then falling into the mattress and rolling her on top of me.

A lot of action for a man who had just died a little.

I was in paradise but of course I had a tiny snake inside my head that had to ruin it all, reminding me of the orgasm Sookie hadn`t had.

It wasn`t the first time I`d had sex with someone who hadn`t orgasmed. I`d been 17 once too. Plus some women just didn`t have it in them. Oh, and then there were the occasional one night stands where I had just not given a damn about her. Yeah – shoot me. As if I was the first guy who had solitary fucks with strangers.

But I was 26 now, I knew Sookie wasn`t frigid and most importantly – I cared enough about her to want her to have an orgasm. Or several.

She was breathing easier than me and her fingers were playing with my chest hair. And my nipples.

"Are you okay?" I asked and I immediately regretted. This was the kind of question you only asked if you knew the woman you`d just had sex with would answer "_yes_" to.

So I held my breath.

Sookie laughed. "I`m more than okay, Eric. I was very nervous about doing this, you know, after … But there were no signs of … I felt … " She lifted her head and looked at me. "I was just like before, Eric," she said with a smile. "Nothing`s changed."

I was thrilled to see her smile but I`d apparently become a masochist without knowing it because I couldn`t keep my mouth shut and just be happy with her.

"But you didn`t have an … " I started but then I remembered that not everyone discussed details about sex as freely as we did back home.

"An orgasm?" Sookie asked and I mentally shook my head at my own reluctance towards saying the O-word out loud.

"Yeah."

"You haven`t left yet, have you?" she asked and kissed my chin. "I wanted you like this … first."

I was exhausted from our love-making but that word – first – was liquid energy pouring right back into my veins. And my groin.

"Really?" I said, my voice darker pitched than usual.

My hand moved down her body.

"Yes, really," she said and then she didn`t say anything for a long time.

Sookie did have her orgasm. And another one just for good measure. And the next morning I felt like testing whether I could give her one more.

Sookie and I had spent most of the last 24 hours in bed. Or rather, she had. She did sleep a lot and also needed to just lie back and relax. I hadn`t realized just how tired she got before I spent all my time with her. She`d probably taken rests when I wasn`t there this last week but now I saw just how much time she spent in bed. And not just the time she spent making love to me.

It made me hate Bill even more. Scars I could take and hair would grow out again but seeing Sookie so exhausted over even the smallest things, made me want to hurt him and hurt him badly. I`d never been a violent man but I was willing to change my ways if I ever met Bill again.

"What happened to Bill?" I asked that afternoon after Sookie had taken a nap and I had gone for a run, taken a shower and spent some time just looking at her beautiful, but scarred face.

Sookie turned and looked at me. I should have regretted my question when I saw the sorrow in her eyes but I didn`t. I wanted to know. Needed to know. But my needs meant nothing because Sookie`s mouth turned into a narrow line and she didn`t say anything.

If fact, Sookie never spoke of Bill. Not even about the life they`d had. Her past.

I suppose I didn`t talk all that much about my past – or anything at all, really. We enjoyed each other`s company without having to yap, yap, yap. I liked that. Preferred it. But I was curious about Bill.

I rolled over on my back and stared at Sookie`s ceiling. I was going to leave the next day and we hadn`t spoken about the future yet.

Our future.

If we had one.

"What are your feelings towards me?" I asked out of the blue. I was glad I wasn`t looking at her when that question decided to escape my lips.

"What?" she asked. Then she spent some agonizing minutes contemplating. "I like you, obviously. Are you asking me if I love you?"

_Do you? _I wanted to ask, but I said nothing. I waited for her response.

"I like you very much, Eric," she finally said.

"But you don`t love me," I stated.

"You`re leaving tomorrow."

"Which is why I`m asking you today." Why couldn`t she just say that she loved me?

I thought I heard some mean but playful gods laugh at me right now. How many times had I had women tell me they loved me and I hadn`t returned their sentiments? How many women had cried because I didn`t love them and never would?

"It`s not quite love," she finally said.

"But close," I added. Not as a question, but as a fact. I hoped.

"But close," she said to herself.

I nodded into her pillow. Not quite love but close. I could live with that. And it was probably how I felt too. Not quite love but close.

"Will you miss me?" I asked Sookie the next morning. She had decided not to go to the airport with me and we were saying goodbye in her apartment.

"Of course I`ll miss you, Eric."

I smiled.

"But you`re only 26, Eric, and … " she continued.

I did not want to hear what she was going to say. I couldn`t believe that she brought up our age difference again. Not now.

"Stop it. I`m not a child," I cut her off.

"Of course you`re not but you shouldn`t be tied down. Not to me. Not to someone living so far away."

"Let me make my own decisions," I said, my voice way colder than I would have wanted it to be on my day of departure.

But I hadn`t made any decisions. Apart from going home and finishing my nursing degree I had no idea what the future would bring. I wanted Sookie in my future but how could I tell her that after knowing her for such a short time? How could I even know?

There was a knock on the door and Sookie went to open it. Pam entered, all smiles and happiness. Couldn`t she see that this was no happy occasion?

"I just wanted to say goodbye, Sookie. We haven`t seen much of each other since my brother hogged you entirely and forgot to share."

I both welcomed Pam and wanted her to go away. I wanted Sookie to myself but I also hoped Pam might come up with some kind of a solution. That she might ask Sookie to come home with us or something.

Because I certainly couldn`t. What did I have to offer her apart from a tiny apartment full of dust bunnies and sex ad libitum?

* * *

**A/N:**

Dust bunnies and sex ad libitum doesn`t sound too bad, though?

Thank you for reading. I hope you liked this chapter.

14 great stories were submitted for the Home Sweet Home Contest that I`m hosting with **Suki59**. You can visit places like Scotland, South Korea, Kansas, Philadelphia and India. I can recommend that you read and review these wonderful stories - voting starts on Wednesday!


	9. Chapter 9

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents **

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: **

Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I know I never got to answer all of you because Fanfic was being such a mess, but I want you to know I appreciate them!

What I also appreciate is how **Rascalthemutant** keeps saving my butt by reading these chapters before I post them for you. Thank you so much, Rascal!

I also want to thank **Peppermintyrose** for the insights on a trial system that is so very different from what we have here in Scandinavia.

* * *

**SPOV**

My apartment suddenly felt very empty. Eric was gone and though he`d only been around a little over a week, I found that I missed him.

I`d wanted to give myself some good memories and was convinced that knowing all along that Eric was going home would make me miss him less.

It had backfired.

My tiny apartment seemed huge without Eric`s 6`4`` to fill it up. And without his laughter, his kisses, his…

He had seemed reluctant to leave – or maybe that had just been me projecting my own feelings into it. Because, truth be told, I hadn`t wanted him to go home. I had wanted him to hold my hand through the trials. I had wanted him to stay and whisper sweet nothings into my ear, though Eric wasn`t the type to whisper sweet nothings at all. I had wanted him to make love to me and to tell me everything would be all right.

Though I knew it wouldn`t be.

I hadn`t told him any of these things because Eric and I were just not meant to be. The age difference, the Atlantic Ocean separating us – and, of course, all the mess Bill had and would put me through.

That didn`t mean that I felt nothing for Eric – because I did. It wasn`t love but that was because I was holding back. I had more than enough scars to voluntarily give my heart away to someone I could never have.

I sat down at my computer and started writing again. I decided to write for an hour and then give myself a break.

It was a knife`s edge. I wanted to write. Craved it now that I knew I could. But I didn`t want to work too hard and end up with a break-down.

So I was very efficient for an hour, then, in the middle of a sentence, I got up and went to bed. I closed my eyes, not because I thought I would be able to sleep, but to relax as much as possible in the hour I was forcing myself to stay there.

Then I got up and went back to writing.

Apart from the regular meals I made sure I had, my whole day was one hour writing and one hour relaxing.

When I went to bed that night I still missed Eric. But I also smiled. I`d written more than a chapter of my next book. If I managed to keep up this speed, the book would be finished before the trial. I knew I would have to go through some pretrial meetings with the prosecutor and I would have to sit through the witness selection but there would still be time to write. I hoped.

The thought of the trial increased that big lump I had in my stomach. I didn`t want to go through with it. Wasn`t sure how I could.

Hadn`t it been enough for Bill to beat me and injure me? Did he have to make me relive everything in a courtroom?

I forced the image of Eric back into my brain. His naked chest. His arms around me. His grunts when he was inside me. The way he felt.

Eric was the reason why I could fall asleep with a smile on my lips. Eric and the fact that I had been able to write again.

I took it easy the next morning. What I really wanted to do was to rush to my computer and start writing, but I forced myself to slow down. I took a shower, got dressed, had breakfast and read the morning paper.

Then I sat down at my computer and turned it on. I wanted to start writing but made myself open my mailbox first. I rarely opened my mailbox because all I had there were fan letters I didn`t have the energy to answer and Alcide nagging me about writing. But this morning it was as if the mailbox shouted at me. "Open me!" it shouted – and I did.

I knew it was the hope that Eric had sent me mail that made me open the mailbox but I didn`t want to acknowledge that hope and therefore only consciously expected the usual mail from people begging me not to let Anita find herself a new man or telling me how I had changed their lives. When would people realize that I was just an ordinary woman and the books were only books?

My heart leaped a little faster when I saw Eric`s name in the inbox. I quickly opened the mail he`d sent and read the message. I smiled and read it again.

_My Lover,_

_Good morning. In a perfect world I would have woken you up with my kisses. _

_E_

I pressed "Answer" and started writing.

_Eric,_

_A good morning to you too though I suspect it`s afternoon for you. I missed those kisses when I woke up._

_Sookie_

I smiled and pressed "Send".

I half expected an email in return but I didn`t get one and started writing on my book. I stretched the hour of writing a little. An hour and five minutes. Maybe even an hour and ten minutes. But I took long breaks between my writing sessions.

Those breaks turned out to be a good idea for the creative flow too. It made me consider what I`d just written a little closer and I knew just what to write next each time I sat back down at the computer.

I regularly checked my mail, was a little disappointed each time there was nothing from Eric and therefore my joy was even bigger when I, late in the afternoon, saw his name in the inbox.

_My Lover,_

_Those kisses can be yours any time. _

_I`m going to bed now and want to wish you a good night. I`ll imagine that you are next to me (or preferably under or over me) in bed and it will seem less empty. _

_E_

I was just about to send him a reply when it occurred to me what he had done. He had wished me a good morning when it was morning for him and a good night when he was going to bed. I decided to do the same.

I wouldn`t answer him until I was ready for bed and went back to writing my book. I had a smile on my lips.

When I had brushed my teeth and put on my nightgown, I sat down at my computer.

_Eric, _

_I`ll imagine those kisses and maybe something more._

_Good night!_

_Sookie_

I did what I had told Eric I would do. I imagined his kisses – and maybe something more. I fell asleep and had very happy dreams. Naughty too.

I went to my computer before I had had my breakfast or gotten dressed. I was 39 but felt like a teenager when I opened my mail and found a new message from Eric. He wished me a good morning – with all the double entendres Eric would use. I did the same back and knew this day would be a good one. How could anything go wrong when Eric had said good morning to me?

Little did I know that the first phone call – the only phone call – that day would be from Mr. Cataliades, the prosecutor in Bill`s case.

It wasn`t that Mr. Cataliades wasn`t nice to me. He was very polite and even sweet and gentle at times. But he had updates on the trial dates and that brought me back to a reality I was more than happy to escape from.

In only two weeks there would be jury selection and the trial would be just a week after that.

"Which means we have to go over your testimony soon," he concluded his long speech.

I nodded which was silly because Mr. Cataliades couldn`t see that over the phone. So I added a weak "Yes."

"When would be a good time for you? I realize your health is not the best and I`ll try to accommodate as best I can," he said in his friendly voice.

_How about never?_

"Thank you. My health has improved some but I still get fatigued and I also have trouble focusing. But I`m sure we can work something out if I`m allowed to take breaks from time to time."

"Good. How does next Monday look?" he asked.

I didn`t have to check my calendar to know that next Monday was as empty as all my other days.

"Monday will be fine," I said.

After we had exchanged our goodbyes and Mr. Cataliades had told me to "hang in there", which had seemed odd in his mouth, I went back to writing.

I looked at the chapter I had been writing on – a chapter where Anita and Eric find themselves intrigued by each other – and knew I couldn`t write that. Not now. I therefore started a new chapter, a chapter that was further out in the story, and tried to find the words to describe how Stefan hurt and tortured Anita for choosing Eric over him.

That chapter seemed to flow through my fingers and I had written the full chapter in just 45 minutes – a new record for me. I also had tears on my cheeks. Tears I hadn`t noticed I`d been crying.

I was completely exhausted and went to bed. This time I fell asleep and slept for hours. When I got up and practically crawled my way back to my computer, I was happy to see another message from Eric. He wished me a good night and told me exactly what he would have done to me and my body if I`d been in his bed tonight. I smiled and looked forward to replying later that evening.

There was also a message from Pam. Just a short one telling me how much she appreciated meeting me and that she hoped our paths would cross again.

It was strange how those two emails from Scandinavia could wash away the worry the phone call from Mr. Cataliades had filled me with. I wrote a reply to Pam and when I read it before hitting send, I was surprised to see that I`d mentioned the trial.

I`d been very careful at not talking about the trial with Eric. I just didn`t want to soil whatever we had with those parts of my life. But somehow I knew Pam would understand. Or maybe I just needed a stranger to talk to?

I quickly added a sentence about not burdening Eric with this since he had more than enough with his exams and all.

My days consisted of a "good morning" from Eric, writing as much as I could during the day and more and more raunchy "good evenings" from the man I found myself missing. My heart did a little flip-flop whenever Eric mentioned the words "soon", "future" or "looking forward to". I`d never given him any promises, for good reason, but I enjoyed how he took it for granted, or pretended to take it for granted, that he and I were not only a thing of the past. Yes, I read his emails very thoroughly for hidden messages.

Monday came and I got dressed for my meeting with Mr. Cataliades. I dreaded this meeting but knew the worst was yet to come. Why couldn`t Bill just have pled guilty and accepted whatever sentence he got? Why did he have to drag me into a courtroom when he knew how much he`d hurt me already?

I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that the man I had shared so many years with, the man I had loved, would do something like that to me. But then he`d already beaten me to within an inch of death and there was no reasonable explanation for that either.

"Come on in, Ms. Stackhouse." Mr. Cataliades greeted me at the door.

"Thank you." I smiled at him but it was that fake smile I sometimes used when I really wanted to do anything but smile. Run away, for instance.

"Would you like some coffee or tea?" he asked.

_No, I want this over with._ "Sure. A cup of coffee would be nice."

Mr. Cataliades disappeared from his office a few minutes. When he came back, a young clerk was in his tracks, carrying a cup and a notepad. I got the cup, which was hot from the coffee, and the clerk sat down next to Mr. Cataliades` desk and looked at me, his notepad in his lap.

"This is Mr. Maimondes," he said and nodded at the clerk who had offered me the coffee and his hand at the same time, revealing just how insecure he was. Under normal circumstances I would have found it endearing but now I wanted something else than clumsy.

I guess I wanted a superhero who would fix this mess for me.

"So … " Mr. Cataliades began. "Today we`ll go through the questions I`m going to ask you and then we`ll run through whatever the defense may throw at you."

"Okay," I said though I was far from okay.

Mr. Maimondes leaned forward.

"Why did Mr. Compton hurt you?" he asked.

I snapped my head in his direction. Yes, he was young and probably knew very little of life but that was no excuse. I watched a light blush spread on his neck.

"You would have to ask Mr. Compton that question," I said in a cold voice.

Mr. Cataliades smiled. "Very good, Ms. Stackhouse. Very good. Mr. Compton did this to you and there is nothing in this world that could excuse his actions."

"Of course, the defense will try to find excuses," Mr. Maimondes said.

Mr. Cataliades looked at him. "Yes, they will. And we will be ready and prepared."

When I came home that afternoon I felt as if I`d been beaten once more. Mr. Cataliades had been his usual nice self but Mr. Maimondes had surprised me by asking questions about Eric. Or rather – he`d asked me if I`d found someone new.

"I don`t have a boyfriend, if that`s what you`re asking," I had replied but the moment the words left my mouth, they felt wrong. Or at least not entirely correct.

"Did you ever cheat on Mr. Compton while you were married?"

I had to think about that. Technically I had. Bill and I had been married when I`d slept with Eric. But I had known the marriage had been over the moment I saw Bill in that bed with …

"I had sex with someone after I found Bill in bed with his mistress but before I filed for divorce," I had finally answered.

"That`s a perfect answer, Ms. Stackhouse, but you may find that Bill`s defense attorney will ask you for a yes or no answer." Mr. Cataliades had sounded encouraging but I heard the little warning too.

"Well, then the answer is yes," I had said while keeping my head high. I`d never felt like I`d cheated on Bill. Not until now.

I peeled off my clothes while the rest of the interview went through my head. They`d asked me about Eric and I could see in Mr. Cataliades` face that Eric`s age did not work to my advantage. Apparently men are more entitled to beat up their wives if her lover is very young. Or that was the impression I got.

Mr. Maimondes and Mr. Cataliades had discussed whether or not Eric should be invited over to be a witness but they`d agreed that this wouldn`t serve my case. Yes, Eric had seen Bill`s mistress and could testify about that but after I`d explained that Eric was handsome, in addition to being young, they`d shaken their heads and told me to make sure Eric was not in the state, or even in the country, during the trial.

I threw myself on the bed, too tired to even pull the covers over me, and for the first time since Eric had left, I didn`t think about him before I fell asleep.

And it wasn`t until the next morning I remembered that I hadn`t said goodnight to him.

_My Lover,_

_I`m going to think about the taste of your sex just before I fall asleep. Then I`ll dream of all the things I want to do to you._

_Can we Skype tomorrow? I want to see you again. And have some fresher memories of you. _

_E_

_My Lover,_

_You forgot me last night._

_Good morning._

_E_

These were the two messages waiting for me when I got up the next morning and they left me with mixed feelings. I could hide the current turmoil in my life in an email, but not if Eric and I talked on Skype.

And that second message left me a little deflated. It wasn`t as aggressive as the ones he`d sent me when I was at the hospital but there was certainly an edge to it. An edge I had a hard time dealing with right now.

_Dear Eric, _

_I collapsed early last night and slept for 14 hours. I`m not sure I can handle Skype right now, but I want you to know that I appreciate your emails morning and night. _

_Sookie_

There. I leaned back and reread it before I hit "send". I didn`t want to show too much weakness but Eric knew I was sick and I hoped he could handle this information.

Turned out he couldn`t because just a few minutes later I got a reply.

_Sookie,_

_I can come to you if you need me. 8 hours on the plane and I`ll be there._

_E_

It was sweet of him to offer but I didn`t want him to come. He had his exams and I had the trial.

_I`ll be fine. _

_Sookie_

I knew I should have written more but what could I say?

* * *

**A/N:**

Was I being mean to you now? Nooo. Couldn`t just let Sookie fly home with Eric now that she had the trial and everything, could I?

Tomorrow is the last chance to vote in the **Home Sweet Home Contest**. Go read all the great stories from so many parts of the world, give them your review love and vote for the two best stories: www . / u / 2623209 / HomeSweetHome


	10. Chapter 10

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 10 **

**A/N:**  
Oh, Fanfic was being a real mess when I posted the last chapter. People got alerts but the chapter was not online. I did get a lot of lovely reviews (thank you *kisses*) which means some of you found the chapter – no thanks to Fanfic

I`m leaving for Morocco (yaaayy) on Saturday and figured I might as well post this chapter before I left. I just hope you will be able to read it.

I wish I could bring **Rascalthemutant** with me to Morocco, but since I can`t, I`ll have to settle with thanking her for her great beta skills!

I own nothing – **Charlaine Harris** owns everything. Including a fantastic talent. All I own is my envy.

* * *

**EPOV**

_I`ll be fine,_

_Sookie_

I stared at the message. It hadn`t been that easy for me to ask her if she wanted me to come to her. I wasn`t used to begging – or even asking – women if they wanted me. With Sookie I seemed to constantly be doing that.

Yes, I knew she was not entirely herself right now but I was beginning to wonder if it was more than that. Sookie mentioned our age difference way too much. Did she really not think we had a future? A future together, that is.

I wasn`t entirely stupid. I knew we weren`t a match made in heaven – and the difference in age was just one of the obstacles standing in our way. The distance between her apartment and mine was huge too.

But I could be a nurse anywhere and being an author wasn`t exactly a job where you had to clock in every morning at nine and had to stay at the office until four. She could write here if she really wanted to. I would vacuum my dust bunnies, if needed.

When Sookie and I were together, I enjoyed how we could just be together and not have to talk. And not just because we had great sex when we weren`t talking. We were just comfortable in each other`s company. Most women wanted to talk. They asked and probed and I never really knew what to answer. With Sookie I could just be me. I could relax.

When we were apart, the non-talking was a problem, though. At least in my opinion. I wanted Sookie to make statements. To say what she felt about me. To tell me she was coming to visit me.

But she did none of it. Even if I prompted her.

Luckily I had my exams to dive into. My days consisted of reading, working out, going to school, reading and sending a few emails to Sookie.

I didn`t go to any parties and I didn`t flirt with anyone. Not that there were any parties to go to. Everyone I knew was busy studying.

I could have flirted if I had wanted to. I just didn`t. I wasn`t sure when I`d decided I was committed to Sookie – that she was my exclusive. I just found that none of the sweet-natured – or naughty-natured, as it were – girls in my class were interesting at all.

They were too silly, too boring, too … not Sookie.

But as much as I wanted Sookie here – she was in New York and I wasn`t.

I`d set up Google Search to pick up any mention of her name. She was a celebrity and I found myself checking her various fansites for news more often than I cared to admit. If it hadn`t been a creepy thing to do I might have paid a private detective to follow her or I might have hacked into her email.

I wanted to know more than she was telling me and following whatever was said about her online was the only semi-normal way I could think of to get the information I craved.

It was on the night of my first written exam – Drug Calculations – I read about Sookie`s ex-husband`s trial for the first time.

I`d said no to the countless number of invitations for "a beer to celebrate" because I had just wanted to go home.

I was turning into a real monk and I wasn`t sure how I felt about that. Just as I wasn`t sure how I felt about Sookie. Was it love? Infatuation?

When I read about the trial, or some gossip magazine`s version of the trial, I found one more thing I wasn`t sure how I felt about. Well, I hated the news. Absolutely hated it. And I wanted to throw the reporter in front of a train.

But why hadn`t Sookie told me about it? Told me there was a trial. That she had to be a witness. That they would treat her like that. She should have come to me for support.

I would have … done something.

This was what filled me with mixed feelings. The fact that Sookie chose not to involve me in something like that made me sad.

The news filled me with rage. Especially when I realized Sookie was suffering because of me. Apparently her ex-husband was trying to get off the hook for attacking Sookie because she had a lover. "A young and handsome lover," according to the gossip magazine.

There was an interview with Bill`s defense attorney, one Johan Glassport, and it made me want to tear up my computer.

"_Mr. Compton is the real victim here. Ms. Stackhouse used him when she was a young and struggling author. When she found financial success with the vampire series she`s currently writing, she threw him away like an old dishrag and found herself a younger lover. _

_Mr. Compton has always been very proud of being Ms. Stackhouse`s inspiration for the male character in her series and was devastated when Ms. Stackhouse not only filed for divorce but decided to let her young lover inspire a new character in her series. A character that will be the new lover of the leading female character. _

_Mr. Compton has been nothing but supportive of Ms. Stackhouse and was appalled when he saw how cold-hearted the love of his life was. Violence never solves anything, and Mr. Compton wishes nothing more than to undo what he did to Ms. Stackhouse. He wants to apologize, but she has never let him have a chance at doing that. _

_I want to add that the trauma Ms. Stackhouse allegedly has been through seems rather exaggerated when one looks at Mr. Comptons`s physique. And the trauma Mr. Compton has been through because of Ms. Stackhouse`s actions should be taken into consideration too."_

The phone rang just as I was reading through the interview a second time. I was amazed I didn`t break the phone when I answered it. My rage was that bad. I took a deep breath.

"Yes," I answered. My mother had tried to teach me to answer with my full name but people calling me knew who they were calling so what would be the point?

"How did the exam go?" It was Pam. Apparently our mother hadn`t succeeded any better with her.

I had to search my brain. Exam? Oh yeah, I`d had my first exam today. It seemed like ages ago after having read that awful article.

"Fine."

"You don`t sound like it went fine," my ever perceptive sister stated.

"It was something else …" I thought for a few seconds. "Sookie`s ex-husband`s trial has started," I said.

"Yeah, I know."

"You know?" I asked. I didn`t know Sookie had made such an impression on Pam that she would follow American gossip magazines too.

"She told me. It`s awful. Really awful. I mean, what she`s …" That was as far as Pam got because I couldn`t hold back.

"SHE TOLD YOU?"

"Yes. It`s hardly a secret and I`m sorry if you thought she only told you things like that," Pam said in a dry voice. "Sookie and I have been corresponding quite a bit. I like her."

"What the fuck?"

Sookie had told Pam and not me?

"Don`t get your dick in a knot, Eric. I don`t like her like that. You know who I love," Pam said in a sad voice that calmed me down like a bucket of cold water.

I knew. Miriam was the love of Pam`s life – only Pam had been thrown out of Miriam`s life when Miriam found out that her breast cancer would kill her. She didn`t want Pam to suffer – or so she`d said. Only, it had made Pam suffer a hell of a lot more.

"Yeah, I know. Any news about Miriam?" I asked, pondering for a moment about Pam and me both falling for women who wouldn`t include us in the tragedies of their lives.

"She`s back at the Radiumhospital," Pam said, her professional voice taking over.

The Radiumhospital was the best hospital for cancer patients in the country. It was also death row for so many people.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"What are you going to do about Sookie?" Pam asked me back.

"I asked first," I answered – going straight back to my nine-year-old self.

Pam snorted.

"I`m going to pursue her, of course. I know why she`s rejecting me and it`s not because she doesn`t like me." Pam sounded very sure. "Now you, Eric."

I paused for a moment. Then I took a deep breath because Pam had always had this ability of making me talk about things I didn`t want to talk about. And I really didn`t want to talk about this.

"I`m still here," she said when I hadn`t replied. She was using her big sister voice.

"I know, Pam. And I wish I had your confidence," I admitted. "Sookie never told me about the trial." I sat down.

"And you think that`s a secret sign for her not having any feelings for you?" Pam asked.

"She should have told me," I argued.

"Yeah. And you`ve told her you love her and want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"That`s different," I answered. It was different. I just wanted to be included in Sookie`s life. I wasn`t asking her for any promises.

"You want a woman who has been knocked out by her ex to open up to some blond and blue-eyed – and I mean that in all senses of blond and blue-eyed – guy who lives on the other side of the globe. That makes perfect sense, Eric. Perfect." Pam could hardly have been more sarcastic.

"She opened up to you," I said. I was pissed now.

"And she doesn`t have to be concerned with what I think about her," Pam fired back.

"She doesn`t have to be concerned about me either. She knows I … " I stopped, not sure what I was going to say. What I could say.

"There you go, little brother. She knows nothing."

* * *

**A/N:**

Yes, I know – this was a shorty. I`ll try to finish the next chapter before I leave and I`ll hopefully be able to post it when I`m back.

Have a nice Easter!


	11. Chapter 11

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas presents - Chapter 11**

**A/N:**

Ah, back from Morocco and enjoying all your great reviews. Thank you so much!

I also want to thank **Rascalthemutant** for betaing this and for finding a suitable show for Sookie to appear on.

* * *

**SPOV**

"No, Alcide. I can`t see why I should have to stoop to that level." I was angry now. Angry. I was sad too, of course. What he had suggested was probably necessary but I hated it all the same. Which was why angry won over sad. Which felt good, actually. There had been a little too much sad lately.

"You have to and you know it. Bill sucker punched you with that trial. Now your publisher wants to cancel the next book if you don`t rewrite it. It`s a mess, Sookie. A complete mess. And you`re the only one who can fix it." Alcide gave me a stern look.

At one point I`d found Alcide attractive. Not attractive in a way that had made me want to cheat on Bill, but I`d noticed Alcide`s dark eyes and curly black hair and I`d smiled back when he`d smiled at me.

That was before he`d introduced me to Debbie. Or before I`d seen sides of him that made me reevaluate him. If there was a thing called inner beauty, there was certainly also inner ugliness. Alcide was as handsome as they come on the outside and it was his luck that looks seemed to be all that counted these days.

But he was right, of course. Which was the reason he was still my agent. He would never be my best friend but he always had my best interests at heart. At least if my best interests were monetary and he could cash in his percentage.

I huffed. "How is it that I`m the bad guy when Bill was one who cheated on me and then beat me up?"

"If you want me to tell you that the world is full of injustice, I`ll be more than happy to do just that. But that doesn`t change the fact that Bill made you look like a bitch and it`s costing you money every day you let it stick to you." Alcide took my hand, but I pulled it back. "Bill was out to hurt you all along, Sookie, despite his claims to still love you. You just have to face it. Now damage control is needed. And there`s no better place to do that than on The View. You`re lucky I could get you on that show." Alcide touched my arm in spite of me pulling back my hand just seconds before.

I never liked it when Alcide touched me but he was a touchy-feely kind of guy. Well, not feely, really. Only touchy. And I was pretty sure he only touched people when he felt he could achieve something with his touch. Like convincing them to make a fool of themselves on TV.

I sat down. We were in my apartment and right now I felt invaded. And conquered. Beaten all over again.

I knew Alcide was right and I also knew The View was one of the better shows I could have appeared on. I loved Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of the hosts on that show seemed like women who would give me a fair treatment.

"I`ll do it," I said in a low voice.

The smile on Alcide`s face made me want to change my mind just to see it fade. But I knew he was right and just looked at him.

"I`ll set it up." He patted my arm and I pulled it back from him. How many times would I have to pull back until he realized that I did not appreciate him touching me? "It`ll be fine. You`ll see. And then maybe you can go on a vacation when this is over? It would be good for you to get away for a bit."

I nodded. My book was finished and sent to my editor. I wasn`t sure if my editor would want to print the book but that was out of my hands. Either they said no and I would have to do a rewrite or they said yes and there would be some back and forth but that could be arranged via mail. Then the book would be printed, if my publisher wanted it at all, and I would have to do some publicity tours.

It would be a perfect time to leave – escape the country. After all these weeks with Bill and the trial, I would certainly love to be somewhere else than New York. A place that didn`t remind me of everything that had happened here.

Only thing was – where would I go?

The obvious answer would be to visit Eric but I hadn`t exactly been my most friendly self these last couple of weeks. Some days I hadn`t sent him the two emails. Some days he`d gotten none. And yet, he`d sent me a good morning and a good night each and every day.

His good night mails had always been raunchy – telling me just what he would want to do to me, to my body, if I`d been there. Or he`d been here.

But his good morning mails had been so much more. He`d told me about what he was going to do that day – exams, reading, applying for jobs. And he would tell me about his plans for the future, his thoughts and desires. He`d told me about him – who he was.

His mails had become longer just before the trial and he`d kept it up even if I didn`t have the energy to encourage him. Or even answer him.

Maybe I could visit Eric?

I immediately shoved the idea away. Too complicated. Way too complicated.

But I liked him. I really did. He wasn`t just a young hot lover. He was so much more. I had realized that during the trial when I had been asked to elaborate on my relationship to him. It had made me think about him in a different way.

"I`ll go on a vacation, Alcide. I`ll do the interview, you`ll talk to the publisher and then we`ll take it from there," I said with a smile.

"You`ll probably just stay here in your apartment and work on your next book," he said, not entirely unhappy with his suggestion.

I shrugged and soon he was out my door.

A few days later I was having a thick layer of makeup put on face and Alcide was prepping me before the interview. This time it wasn`t Debbie who was applying the makeup but a professional from ABC.

New York was heating up and the air conditioning was at full speed in the little makeup room. I was a little sweaty from the walk from the subway station but the chill in the room gave my body it`s normal temperature again. A shudder ran through my body but I wasn`t sure if it was because of the air conditioning or the fact that I was about to sit in a couch with five women who would ask me questions I would rather not answer.

"You have to be honest. Open your heart in there," Alcide said for the seventh time.

"I know, Alcide."

"And no holding back about Bill. Remember what he did you to you."

I cringed. "I don`t think I`ll forget, Alcide." My voice had that tinge of anger I often felt towards Alcide. I knew Alcide and I had to go our separate ways soon because I needed an agent I liked. One I could stand being in the same room with.

"Ten minutes!" A young guy popped his head in.

The makeup lady added some finishing touches, pulled off the towel that protected my shirt and gave me an encouraging smile.

"You`ll do great in there," she said. "They will love you."

I wasn`t sure if she meant the hosts or the audience, but I smiled in gratitude all the same.

"Thank you, " I replied.

I took a deep breath and felt how that fake smile of mine took up half my face. Apparently they were used to fake smiles at ABC because the producer and the assistant gave me equally fake smiles back.

"And we would like to welcome our next guest," Whoopi Goldberg announced. "She`s the author of an award-winning vampire series but lately it has been the trial of her ex-husband that has been on everyone`s lips. She was beaten up in her home and later she was beaten up in the court room. Sookie Stackhouse."

Audience clapped like I was actually someone important. I smiled and nodded as if it was perfectly normal to go crazy over someone like me. I sat down in the middle of the couch and looked at the five successful women who were smiling at me. I`d never watched the show until Alcide told me about getting me a spot there and after that I`d only watched it on YouTube. But these women, and Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters especially, filled me with awe.

"So Sookie," Barbara Walters started. "This has been one tough spring for you?"

I stopped smiling. I was about to talk about serious things. Couldn`t smile like a lunatic then, I told myself, though the smile was more of a nervous habit than an actual smile.

"They have been the worst months of my life. When my ex-husband … Bill …" I looked at the audience. "When he almost killed me back in January, I thought that was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. "

Joy Behar smiled an understanding smile – a smile I would bet she`d practiced for ours in front of the mirror. It was a nice smile, though. A warm smile.

"You were hospitalized?" she prompted.

"I was. And I still suffer from some of the damages from the assault."

"Did you feel you were to blame for your ex-husband beating you and hurting you like this?" Whoopi Goldberg asked, knowing what I would answer.

"Of course not. First of all, no one is to blame for their husbands beating them." That earned me clapping and cheering from an audience that was almost exclusively female. "Second of all, Bill cheated on me. He was working abroad when I came to visit him and found him with his mistress."

"And they weren`t drinking coffee from what I hear," Barbara Walters said.

"There were no coffee cups in that bed." I dropped my smile just as I said that but the audience seemed to find it funny. It`s amazing how one person`s tragedy can be another person`s laughter.

"And yet, during the trial you were portrayed as the adulterer?" Whoopi Goldberg continued.

"I was," I nodded. "After I`d found Bill in bed with … that woman … I went to a café." I took a little break. "That was where I met … Eric."

When I said his name a big lump in my stomach formed. I should have talked to him about this before mentioning him. But I`d never mentioned the trial and I just couldn`t mention this interview out of the blue. So all I could do was to pray that Eric would never see this show. And why would he?

For the first time I found myself happy Eric lived so far away.

"Your lover?" Joy Behar asked.

"Yes, Eric became my lover," I said.

"The defense attorney made a big deal out of him being so much younger than you?" Whoopi Goldberg stated more than asked. "Because for some reason men are entitled to beat up women who have sex with younger and sexier men."

I`d always loved Whoopi Goldberg`s sense of humor and she made me smile now too. This time a real smile, not a fake one.

"Eric is 13 years younger than me." I looked at the audience again. "Most people find it perfectly normal for men to date women who are 13 years younger than they are. But for some reason it was wrong of me to find happiness with a younger man."

The audience cheered again and I heard a few women shouting "You go, girl".

"So you`re in love with Eric?" Barbara Walters asked out of the blue.

I found myself blushing. I wasn`t sure how much of the color that would be visible through the thick layers of makeup, but the stupid grin on my face probably told its own story.

"I would rather not comment on that," I said, suppressing the grin into a smile.

Joy Behar smiled at me. "And now he`s in your books too?"

"I`ve written a new character into my series, yes." I answered. "But he`s there because my heroine Anita needed a new direction in life. She`s been controlled for far too long by the man she thought she loved. She needs to get back on her own two feet."

The audience cheered again.

"A bold choice?" Barbara Walters asked. "Your fans seem to like Anita with Stefan?"

"I would say it was a natural choice. Anita is a strong heroine and she needed a new direction in her love-life," I said with a smile and enjoyed the cheering. I knew the audience would cheer if I`d said my new hero was a blue-cheese, but it still made me smile.

The interview was a success and I could see Alcide`s grin in the darkness behind the cameras. I could also hear the cash register in his head.

When we walked towards the subway station afterwards, Alcide was so nice to me I could almost be fooled into thinking he liked me and not just the money I was making for him.

"I`ll call your publisher first thing in the morning, Sookie," he said when my subway rolled into the station. "Your book will be out in no time."

I nodded and thanked him, knowing that I would be checking the contract I had with him – and that I would find myself a new agent as soon as I could. If there was one thing I`d learned this spring, it was to only spend time with people I enjoyed being with and not waste it on people who made me feel bad about myself.

When I came home I sat down at my computer. My book was finished and I didn`t want to work on the next one yet. After all, I wasn`t sure if my publisher would accept the book I`d already submitted.

I went online instead. Suddenly I found myself checking out airline fares to Scandinavia and before I could regret my own actions, I`d bought a ticket. I was going to visit Eric in July.

I took a deep breath. Maybe I should have asked Eric first? Talked it over with him?

I shrugged. You only live once and that measly little life can be ruined ten times over in a blink of the eye. If Eric didn`t want me to visit him, I could always check out some fjords, the midnight sun, some Viking ship museums or the statue of The Little Mermaid. It wasn`t as if Eric was the only site in Scandinavia.

He was the best, though.

I started writing an e-mail to Eric.

* * *

**A/N:**

I hope you all had a nice Easter. I certainly did. Morocco was amazing!

I also hope you liked this chapter and that I didn`t mutilate The View too much. I`ve only ever watched it on YouTube…

**The Home Sweet Home contest** is over and the votes are counted. The amazing winners are **Miss Construed** and **Pfloogs**. Both are great writers and their stories will make you smile – I promise :-)

Oh - and several of you have asked me about **Dead without a Work Permit**. The next chapter is already written and will be posted in the near future.


	12. Chapter 12

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 12**

**A/N: **

First of all I want to apologize for having you wait this long for and update. But I`ve written all of Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents so updates should be regular now.

I want to thank **Suki59** very much for betaing the rest of Dust Bunnies. She is an amazing beta and I`m so pleased she wanted to do this for me.

Finally – a word of warning. Towards the ending of this chapter there is a scene that might me disturbing for some. To me and a lot of people it`s a very normal practice, but to some it`s disgusting. Not going to say what it is or I will spoil you, but you`ve been warned. Well, sort of, at least.

**Chapter 12**

**EPOV**

"She`s coming, she`s coming!"

I knew I was behaving like a little child seeing Santa, but when I had read Sookie`s e-mail, I called Pam immediately.

"If you are calling me to tell me that whatever girl you have in bed with you is coming, then you`re even more immature than I thought you were," she dead-panned.

"Shut up, Pam. Sookie`s coming to visit. In July, actually."

I could almost hear Pam`s smile over the phone. "Oh, that`s great. How long is she staying?"

"I have no idea. But I`m excited even if it`s for just a day."

Pam laughed. "Oh, you have it bad, brother."

I nodded though Pam couldn`t see it. "I like her, Pam. Nothing wrong with liking someone."

We talked for a few minutes about what I could show Sookie – which sites to take her out to see and then we hung up. I went back to my computer and wrote Sookie a reply, telling her that I was looking forward to seeing her again. I may even have been cheesy in my e-mail to the woman I was about to hold in my arms again soon.

I was way too excited to have breakfast so when I noticed someone had put up a YouTube clip with "Sookie Stackhouse" in the topic, I clicked on it and began watching.

I`d never watched that show before and had to crank up the volume to catch what they were saying. All five hostesses seemed to want to talk at the same time. But when Sookie was asked if she loved that 13 year younger man she`d met, I didn`t need to hear her answer to feel the butterflies in my stomach grow. Her blush was enough.

I felt bad for Sookie that the fact that she`d met me had been used against her in the court case against her ex-husband but my ego grew a mile by the fact that Sookie had acknowledged me on that show.

I wasn`t just some casual thing for her.

Or so I hoped.

I looked at my watch and realized I was late for work so I ran out the door, a huge smile planted on my face.

Later that evening I was exhausted, as I usually was when I came home from work but for some reason I felt the need to clean my apartment. That need did not come over me very often – yet now it was imperative for me to clean out all the dust bunnies and wash the bed linens.

I knew why I wanted to clean my small apartment and I tried to tell myself I would have all the time in the world since Sookie wouldn`t be here until July, but when I went to bed that night, my apartment was shining.

Time crawled in turtle-speed while I waited for Sookie to arrive. I went to my new job as a nurse at the Radiumhospital every day – a job I had been so proud to get and now I found it meant so much less than the fact that I would soon see the woman I had come to find that I … loved – and I did all the things I usually did. But really, I spent my time waiting for Sookie.

Yes, it was pathetic. I wasn`t usually the sort of guy who pined for a woman. I was the sort of guy who would screw around, who would fuck anyone batting her eyes, the sort of guy who would sing, drink and be merry.

It was ironic, really, that I turned out to be the pining sort of guy. That I was a one-woman-guy deep inside. Especially since that one woman was complicated as few and living on the other side of the globe.

But even if time moved slowly, the day Sookie was supposed to step her beautiful feet – yeah, I was up to my neck talking about her fairly ordinary feet like that – in my country again. I got up early that morning, cleaned the apartment one more time, took a long shower and went to pick her up at the airport.

I recalled the ups and downs of our relationship. The hot start, the misunderstandings and now her visiting me. Not to mention Sookie blushing at that television show. That was what really threw me into my cleaning spree. And my pining for her. I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to deserve that blush.

I`d come off enough airplanes and never thought twice about the people waiting for their loved ones. I`d seen some of them carrying flags and some flowers, but I`d never really _seen_ them. They`d just been there and never for me.

And now I was there. I didn`t have any flowers or flags and kept second guessing myself on both. I only had my nerves and I had them in abundance.

But when Sookie came out through customs I couldn`t help smiling. Or running towards her and lifting her up. She was my woman and damn if I didn`t want everyone to see it.

I gave her a deep kiss and it wasn`t until someone coughed, I realized that we were blocking the doorway.

I put Sookie down again, grabbed the luggage cart in one hand and her in the other. It was so amazing to have her hand in mine again.

"How was your flight?" I couldn`t care less about her flight, really, but that`s what you`re supposed to ask people you pick up at the airport, right?

"It was fine, Eric. And it`s good to see you again."

I let go of her hand and grabbed her around the waist instead and hugged her into my side while walking. "I`m looking so much forward to having you here again."

She giggled and I adored the sound of it. With all the stuff Sookie had been put through, she deserved a few giggles. And I was going to give it all to her.

Yes, I felt all male and protective and strong, walking through the airport to the parking lot, with my arm around Sookie. Which was silly because Sookie was strong herself and didn`t need my protection. But I still had this basic feeling of wanting to make sure nothing bad would ever hurt her again. To make her life a dance on roses – no thorns included.

I could see her surprise when I opened the door to my apartment.

"What? No dust bunnies?" she teased.

"I had a bit better warning than the last time you stayed at my place," I said, trying to hide my pride.

When did I become one of those guys who was proud because his woman noticed that he`d cleaned his apartment? Probably when I started referring to _a_ woman as _my_ woman.

"Are you tired? Do you want to rest awhile?" I asked.

"That depends on the alternative," she said with a smirk and it didn`t take me many seconds to realize what she was saying and to plant my lips on hers and my hands all over her body.

Had I been a less selfish man, I would have paid attention to the dark shadows under her eyes and the fact that she had lost a whole night of sleep due to the time difference. But I was selfish. I wanted her and since she wanted me as well, I did not press the issue of her taking a nap.

Sookie was a grown up, right? If she wanted sleep, she both could and would tell me so. After all, she`d managed to tell me that I wouldn`t have any use for that huge supply of condoms I`d stocked up in my drawer. She was using birth control pills.

So we ended up making use of my bed for other activities than Sookie napping after a long flight. Activities that felt so good that I was a mixture of emotions when we were lying in each other`s arms afterwards.

I was so incredibly happy, I didn`t have words to express it. I felt a companionship – no, a bond – to Sookie. She was my family. But those feelings were also mixed up with fear of losing her again. And that was what prompted me to ask her when she was leaving.

"Why?" she asked laughing. "You want me to go already?"

I tickled her and may have pinched her gorgeous butt because of that response.

"No, I want you to stay forever but I wanted to know when I will be deprived of your lovely company," I said when we had settled down again.

"My return ticket is in three months but I could travel around a bit if you get tired of having me here. After all, I didn`t see much of Scandinavia the last time I was here."

"Tired of having you here? Are you crazy? If I`d had a basement, I would have locked you up there just to make sure you never left me again." I gave her a kiss just to make sure she didn`t think I meant the part with the basement – though I wasn`t so sure I didn`t. Now that Sookie was here, I knew I wouldn`t want her to go. I just didn`t know how to make her stay.

"Good thing you don`t have a basement, then," she said, grinning.

I rolled over on my back and pulled her to lie on my chest. I loved having her there, listening to my heart. And it was also a perfect position if you have to ask someone embarrassing questions. No eye contact.

"You`re welcome to stay longer, Sookie."

She kissed my nipple. "I would love to but I have a life back in New York too."

I took a deep breath. It was make or break.

"We could … have you ever considered having children?"

Sookie raised her head and looked at me and I wanted to hide under my pillow. It wasn`t that I wanted to un-ask the question. It was one I had wanted to ask her for a long time. She was pushing 40 and I knew time was an issue. And though I`d never wanted children before, I had started to picture the little blond brats she and I could produce.

If she wanted children, that is. And if she could have them.

So I held my breath and tried to keep my face neutral.

"I`m a bit old now, Eric," she said.

"You`re only 39," I said, happy that she hadn`t dismissed it entirely. Or was that only my interpretation?

"I`ll be 40 next month."

"So? Plenty of women have children when they`re 40. Or 45. A colleague of mine just announced that she was pregnant and she`s 46." It was an exaggeration. Gry had been 42, but that was still older than 40.

"What are you saying, Eric? That you want us to start a family? We`ve only known each other since Christmas and only seen each other for two weeks – one at Christmas and one at Easter. We live on different continents." She paused. "And I`m almost 40."

"Sure, but I`m only 26 so the kid would have a young dad. And we both have professions that make us movable."

"Which is not without complications. And it still leaves the fact that we hardly know each other." Sookie kissed my nipple again.

I wanted to say that I knew she was the one for me but I realized they would just be words. I wanted to ask her why she and Bill hadn`t had any children but I figured it was none of my business. Plus, she hadn`t told me she hated children or had made an early decision never to have them. And she hadn`t mentioned not being able to have children. She was on the pill, after all.

So I assumed it was that Bill was either infertile or hadn`t wanted children. Or that she hadn`t wanted _his_ children.

"Then I suggest we get to know each other better pretty damned fast," I said and let my hands glide down her back to her butt.

There are some advantages to being young. Short recuperating time, for one.

We got into a routine pretty quickly. We got up in the morning, had breakfast and when I was at work, Sookie worked or rested or went out on trips to see the city.

When I came home we had dinner or went out to eat. Sometimes we watched a movie and sometimes we went for a long walk.

When I had a day off, I would show her my town and my country.

We talked and we were quiet. We enjoyed life and we had plenty of sex.

This was the kind of family life I`d always wanted. Well, I had never consciously wanted it until I had it now with Sookie. But now that I had it, I didn`t want to let it go. I didn`t want to let Sookie go home.

I`m not sure when the idea of messing with Sookie`s birth control pills surfaced. It might have been that first night when she had unpacked her things and that little package of pills lay there on my bathroom sink. It might have been later when I saw babies all over the place. When had people started having so many kids?

So one morning, when Sookie had already been to the bathroom but hadn`t taken the pill she took every morning, I pressed one out of the package and threw it in the toilet. It was one of those spur of the moment kinds of things and I immediately felt bad about doing it.

But did I regret it? No.

I told myself that I wasn`t forcing a pregnancy on her. I was just helping fate. The lies we tell ourselves.

Knowing that Sookie wasn`t 100% protected was like an aphrodisiac to me. If we`d had sex every night up until then, I made sure we also made love in the morning or the afternoon. And when Sookie went down on me, I never finished in her mouth. I told her I wanted to come inside her and that was the naked truth.

Sookie didn`t seem to complain. Actually she was one of those women who wanted more when there was more to be had and often initiated sex even if we`d already made love that day. Or the night before.

Sookie`s being in my apartment was one big humping party and I enjoyed every moment of it. Every mans`s dream, right?

Though I doubted every man looked for pregnancy signs in the woman with whom he had sex daily.

I did, though. Was she a little bit sick in the morning? Were her breasts a little heavier? Was she more tired than usual?

I knew those signs wouldn`t come immediately, but I still looked for them.

And I made sure she ate well. We had beans, asparagus, spinach and even turnips for dinner. Anything to make sure she got enough folic acid.

I was so on edge because of the possible pregnancy that I hadn`t prepared myself for Sookie getting her period. When she rejected me one night because of it, I was devastated.

"Aaw, sweetheart. There are other things we can do," she comforted me.

I felt like an ass because I should have been the one comforting her. She was in pain and now she thought I was whining over not getting my daily sex dose. I forced myself to give her one of my winning smiles.

"Maybe there`s something I can do for you?" I said, letting my hand snake down her stomach. "I hear orgasms are great pain relievers."

"You want to … ? Don`t you find it gross?" she asked.

"I`m a nurse. Since when do I find blood gross?"

My hand crept under the waistband of her panties and I pushed them and the pad she was wearing slightly down to give me room to maneuver. Sookie accommodated me by spreading her legs a bit more. Soon my fingers found their favorite playground and I relished the advantages of Sookie`s being so very well lubricated. It made it possible to be a little more daring, a little rougher – something she seemed to enjoy very much.

Soon I had her panting and moaning and when I kissed and sucked on her breast – who says men can`t multitask? – as well, I felt the familiar signs of an impending orgasm.

I captured her mouth with mine just as she moaned out her pleasure and I kept kissing her while her body tensed and then became still.

When I pulled back and looked at her, my fingers having moved up to carress the lovely curls she had between her legs, I enjoyed the deep sigh that came out of her half open mouth.

After a few moments she looked at me.

"It actually did help with the pain," she said as if she were surprised.

"You mean that you`ve never tried this specific brand of pain medication before?" I asked.

She laughed. "No, I haven`t. Bil … most men find it gross."

I noticed how she`d almost said the name of her ex-husband and was glad she changed the sentence. I didn`t want Bill present in our bed.

"Well, I don`t. As a matter of fact, if you`re up for it, I could do it again," I offered. "Just to make sure you make it through the night."

"You`re such a philanthropist, Eric," she said, laughing. "Would your offer include getting other body parts of yours bloody?"

I grinned. "It would."

And with that I went into the bathroom, washed my bloody fingers and retrieved a towel. When I came back I spread the towel underneath Sookie`s butt and pulled off her panties, pad and all.

I`d never understood why people didn`t have sex just because the woman menstruated. After all, most women bleed 20% of the time up until they are in their fifties. That`s a lot of potential sex-time to miss out on. Yes, I was being entirely selfish in my calculations.

I kissed Sookie deeply and entered her carefully – not wanting to bump her cervix or cause her discomfort.

I liked the different paces Sookie and I made love in and taking it slowly, looking into her eyes when she came – it was a beautiful thing.

So what if she hadn`t conceived the first chance she`d gotten? Sookie was 39 and took most of her birth control pills this past month.

The Goddess of Fate hadn`t had a real chance. She would need more help next month.

**A/N:**

First of all: I feel the need to stress that I do not condone Eric`s practice. Kids should be the result of a united decision (or a united mistake as it happens for most of us) – not one tricking the other. But I figured it would be "typical" Eric who tricked Sookie into marrying him in the books.

Second of all: I hope you survived the sex scene. I personally agree with Eric on this subject and never meant to disgust anyone. I`m so sorry if I did.


	13. Chapter 13

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 13**

**A/N:**

Wow, I was so pleased to see that this story hadn`t been forgotten while hibernating. Thank you so much for all your great reviews. I even learned things from them – like the Jewish rules for having sex during your period and a Dutch saying on the same subject :-D.

I also want to thank **Suki59** for doing such a great job at betaing this chapter.

* * *

**SPOV**

Being with Eric all summer – and it had been all summer – had been amazing. He was so sweet and gentle but also funny, smart and so very, very hot. I`d had the best sex of my life when I was there and it had felt like I was filling up a bottle of strength and happiness every time we`d made love.

But – and there was a very big but here – the difference in our ages showed. Eric was in a different stage in his life than I was. Yes, he`d casually mentioned children and formalizing our relationship but he was still fresh out of nursing school and had the future ahead of him.

It wasn`t as if I had one foot in the grave with my big four-O closing in on me but I did find myself checking out the shelves of "restoring your youth" creams in the tax-free shop at the airport when I was going home. I felt old.

Not to mention the after effects of the attack from Bill. I still needed to rest a bit every day which had been fine the days Eric worked but was harder to hide when he was having his days off. My concentration wasn`t as good as it had been. It was getting better, though. I had started writing on my new book and I managed to get into some kind of writing flow.

What really worried me was my bad memory. I kept finding myself surprised that I`d already taken my birth control pill, for instance. And I would put them in the weirdest places. Behind the soap or even dropped on the floor. It was as if my subconscious wanted me to become pregnant. Or rather, that my subconscious managed to make me take the pills without my realizing it.

It scared me, to be truthful, but I never told Eric. My bad memory was not something I wanted to discuss with anyone except possibly a doctor.

I made a mental note of bringing it up at my next medical checkup.

Back at my apartment I was overwhelmed with a loneliness I`d never felt before. I missed Eric so much and the stomach flu I had apparently caught in my last days in Scandinavia didn`t help my well-being.

I threw up every morning and was tired all day because of it.

Eric and I were back to our online chats, e-mails and skyping each other whenever we could manage. I mentally chastised myself for acting like a teenager with her first crush because I couldn`t help smiling whenever I saw an e-mail from him in my inbox or whenever his face turned up on my computer screen.

His smile made me forget my worries over my bad memory, my stomach flu and even the difference in age between Eric and me. When I saw him, when I wrote to him or read what he`d written to me, we were just Eric and Sookie with no worries in the world.

Just like we`d been all summer.

I`d been home for three weeks when I felt I`d been sick for too long and made an appointment with my doctor. Even Eric had asked me if I was fine though I`d never shown him how sick I was or told him how often I threw up.

I suppose he just knew me well enough to wonder if I was sick though I`d never given him reason to think I was.

It was a hot day when I took the subway to the doctor`s office. It seemed every smell, every stench, was amplified by the heat and it was a close call that I didn`t throw up in the subway car.

I did the moment I entered the doctor`s office, though. Before I could state my name, I had to make a run for the bathroom. It was highly embarrassing but I figured a doctor`s office was used to seeing sick people so I tried to smile when I came out again – only to find all the other patients looking at me as if I had the bubonic plague.

I managed to state my name, chewing hard on the gum I carried with me for emergencies like this, and went to sit down in a corner, far away from everyone else and said a silent prayer that my doctor was not too delayed with other patients.

It`s strange. When you`re sick you can sort of forget about it when you`re at home – pretend that nothing serious is wrong with you. But as soon as you`re waiting for the nurse to call out your name, you start thinking about all the deadly diseases you might have. I know I began to wonder if Ebola had a Scandinavian sister or if I`d eaten something with salmonella and was rotting inside. Or – and that was the thought that gnawed at me the most – I began thinking about cancer.

I drew a breath of relief when my doctor finally came to examine me in but had to wonder about his state of sanity when the first words he said to me were:

"You look amazing, Sookie. Did you find the fountain of youth on your vacation?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, feeling my stomach turning once more and hoping there wasn`t anything left to vomit.

"You look radiant. A bit pale, perhaps, but very … happy."

I couldn`t help laughing. My doctor had been a pillar of strength and optimism after Bill attacked me but this was beyond his usual _You`ll be back at your normal self in no time._

"I throw up every day," I said when I managed to stop laughing.

"Oh," he said, looking almost disappointed. "Well, we can`t have that. I`ll run some tests but first I need to ask you a few questions."

"Sure."

"First of all I need to ask you if you`re sexually active." He checked his computer screen. "I prescribed birth control pills for you earlier this summer so I assume the answer is yes?"

"Well," I started. "I was this summer." I`m not sure why I blushed. My doctor had probably also read the gossip magazines and knew all about Eric.

"Yes, you told me you were going to Scandinavia to visit someone. Did you take your pills as prescribed?" he asked and looked at me.

That was when it hit me why this sudden interest in my sex life. Pregnant women throw up – I knew that. But I couldn`t be … no, that wasn`t possible.

"I did," I replied. Then after a moment`s thought, "At least I think I did." I looked at him. "I`m still struggling with some memory problems after …." I took a deep breath. "A few times I looked at the pills and saw that I`d already taken one and I couldn`t remember taking it."

"You never forgot to take a pill?"

"No, not that I know of. It was always a missing pill. Towards the end of my vacation it was as if I`d taken half my pills without remembering it afterwards."

"Could you have taken the pill a day too early?" he asked and I had to think.

"I … I don`t know. I can`t remember."

It was terrible, absolutely horrible to have to admit that one`s memory was like Swiss cheese. I sat there almost wishing I could have told my doctor I just hadn`t cared enough about the pills. That I`d been one of those girls who would look at her pills and see that there was one too many and just go _whoops._ But I was not a _whoops_-girl. I had always been very sensible and reliable.

"Let`s run the tests first, shall we? For all we know it`s just some stomach bug or something you ate." He smiled at me and I could see that he didn`t believe what he was saying. Some people claim to be able to spot a pregnant woman from some "magical glow" or something. I bet my doctor was one of those people.

Later, when I sat in the waiting room, with an empty bladder and a urine sample being tested, I knew what they would say. I was just surprised that I hadn`t thought of it myself.

But then I`d lived with Bill for so long and pregnancy had never been anything to worry about. I`d wanted children at first but Bill never did. He`d had an awful childhood and felt he had too many monsters inside he didn`t want to inflict on his children.

As sad as I`d been about never having children, I also felt that Bill was very mature in recognizing that he would be a bad father and drawing his conclusions from that. I`d had friends (Tara mostly) who would suggest, usually after a few glasses of wine, that I could "forget" my contraceptives and that Bill would be thrilled with becoming a father.

Suggestions like that had always made me both sad and angry. How could anyone suggest that I would betray Bill – and our relationship – by doing something like that? Having a child was something both parties decided on. Not something one forced through against the other`s wishes.

I sighed to myself. Very soon I might be doing the very thing I`d never wanted to do to Bill, to Eric. If I really were pregnant – and it would be because of my not being able to handle something as simple as taking a few pills – I would be telling Eric he was going to be a father without our planning it.

Yes, plenty of pregnancies weren`t pre-planned but that didn`t make me feel any better.

When my doctor came out, sporting a huge grin, I told myself that it would be all right. That a pregnancy would be better than … I wasn`t sure what a pregnancy would be better than. Cancer, of course. But having eaten bad shrimp and paying the price now had started to sound like a much better alternative.

I walked behind my doctor back to his office and sat down in the chair I had occupied just half an hour earlier. I took a deep breath.

"Sooo," he started out. "It`s customary to say one`s congratulations in these cases. You`re pregnant."

I nodded. Pregnancy had never crossed my mind before my previous conversation with my doctor but while waiting for the results, it had seemed like the only logical answer to my throwing up all the time.

"Are you in a relationship?" he asked in a neutral voice – especially considering I had only hours earlier revealed that I had boinked like a bunny all summer.

I shrugged. Was I in a relationship? "He lives in Scandinavia," I said as a kind of a reply.

"Are you going to move there? Or maybe he`ll move here?"

I could feel tears starting to form and let my tongue glide over my teeth. "I`m not sure. We haven`t talked about it."

"But you`re still … you didn`t end the relationship?"

"No, we didn`t. It`s just …."

Suddenly I felt his hand on mine. In all the times I`d visited him after I`d been beaten up by Bill, he`d never touched me like that but it was exactly what I needed from him now. His hand on mine, just for a few seconds, told me it would be fine. That I would find a way to get through this.

"You`ve been through a lot and I`m sure you`ll handle this well too. It may not be what you planned for now and it will be very tough for you, especially if you end up being alone with the child, but you`ll see. In a few years you may look back at it and see it as a blessing in disguise."

I sniffed and nodded. I`d never been one to let anything break me. I`d never not wanted children. Now was the time to start actively wanting this one.

It was when I was back at my apartment reality hit me. How was I ever going to bring up a child on my own? I wasn`t entirely well myself and I didn`t have much of a network to help me out. I had money and I had a place to live but children needed more than that.

And then there was Eric. How could I ever tell him he was going to be a father? That I had messed up like that? We`d only barely touched the subject of children and that had been at the beginning of my vacation. We`d never discussed it – let alone planned this pregnancy.

Would he be angry? Happy? Would he blame me for being so careless with my birth control pills?

Would I even tell him?

I felt a sudden pain in my knuckles and realized I`d been biting them. What a mess I was in. I thought about all the different ways this could go down. Me as a single mother, me and Eric as parents, me choosing not to have the baby.

I shivered at the last thought. No, that was clearly not an option. Though I`d given up on having children long ago, I wanted the baby now. I was close to 40 and this could very well be my only chance at motherhood. How could I say no?

But both the other options seemed impossible. How could I ask Eric to move to New York? And how could I ever pack up my life and move to Scandinavia? Eric and I had enjoyed some very fine months together but what did we really know about each other?

Being a single mother didn`t seem very appealing either. I knew I would be able to handle it. I was not one to whine or give up. But it wouldn`t be easy. I knew that.

I sat down in front of my computer, realizing that this wasn`t even my decision. Eric needed to be told. My conscience was clear on that, and there was no point in debating whether Eric and I would be living together here or there if he didn't want to play house with me.

I checked my watch and figured he would be home, late at night as it was in Scandinavia. I sent him an e-mail, asking him to go on skype and then I went to fetch myself a cup of coffee.

He was there, smiling at me, when I came back. His smile faltered a bit when he saw me. I`d always been a master of keeping my emotions away from my face if needed, but apparently having to tell someone he is going to be a father was too much to keep hidden.

"What`s up, Sookie?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. I`d planned to just say it and then wait for his reactions but now I found my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

"You know you can tell me anything," he continued.

"Oh, you may regret saying that when you know what I`m going to say," I said.

He gave me a tiny smile. "I doubt that. Unless you`re telling me you never want to see me again, I can`t imagine there`s anything you could say that I don`t want to hear."

I couldn`t help smiling at his naivety. After all, I could be severely sick or I could be going to prison. Or I could be telling him I was pregnant.

"I do want to see you again," I started. "But you may not want to see me." I paused. "And that would be … understandable."

"Stop it, Sookie. Just tell me what it is."

I looked at Eric`s blue eyes, drowned myself in them even though he was looking at the screen and not the camera.

"I`m pregnant."

I had expected Eric to ask me questions or to be dumbfounded but I had not expected the immediate and very loud expression of pure joy I witnessed on my computer screen.

"Oh, Sookie. I want to hug you and kiss you and dance around with you right now," he yelled when he`d stopped his yahoos and yipees.

I smiled and felt relieved too though there were still a couple of hundred unsolved problems. But at least Eric`s being angry with me wasn`t one of them.

"I must have mixed up my pills," I said as an answer to the question I`d expected Eric to ask me. I felt I owed him an explanation. Or maybe I wanted to tell him that I hadn`t planned on getting pregnant.

"It happens all the time, Sookie. Don`t worry about it. You know I asked you about having children and though we never talked it through, it was definitely something I wanted … some day." He added the last two words almost as an afterthought.

"There are a lot of issues to work out, Eric. It`s not like we`ve been living together for ten years and having a child is the next logical step."

"So we`re special and we do things our way." Eric grinned and I loved hearing the happiness in his voice. It almost took away my worries. Almost. "And we`ll work out the issues too. I have a profession that I`m sure can be used in your country and you can basically write anywhere. We`re lucky that way, Sookie."

I nodded though I couldn`t imagine either him or me moving. "I guess we are."

"We are. Neither of us have to give up doing what we love doing but we`ll have each other and soon we`ll have our own little bundle of joy."

I laughed. "Clearly your nursing school failed to teach you about colic, sleepless nights and kids being sick all the time."

Eric smiled. "You know what? I`d planned on a surprise visit to New York and the timing couldn`t be better." He turned around and looked through some papers on his desk and then turned back to me with a paper in his hands. It was a print-out of a document and I recognized the airline logo in the upper left corner of the paper. "I have tickets for a week in your bed 12 days from now."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. I spoiled the surprise now, but I just wanted to see you again."

"That`s amazing!"

"I`m very glad you think so," he said with a grin.

* * *

**A/N:**

I hope you liked this chapter.

I feel bad for Sookie even though I was the one who wrote this. And I want to kick Eric for not telling Sookie what he`d done. But then book-Eric may be telling book-Sookie the truth, but he certainly doesn`t tell her the whole truth. I tried to stick with that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 14**

**A/N:**

First of all – thank you for all your great comments and reviews. I really appreciate them!

I also want to thank **Suki59** for betaing this, but all mistakes (linguistic and/or medical and/or metrological and/or … yeah, well all mistakes) are mine. Writing this story has taught me why I usually situate my stories in Scandinavia. Even going to the doctor in the USA is entirely different from here. It`s a sure case of "write what you know". Luckily **Suki59** asks me all the right questions

**EPOV**

I was one lucky bastard. I was a bastard too, but right now, sitting on the plane to New York, I couldn`t stop grinning.

Yes, I knew I should feel bad about Sookie`s thinking she`d messed up with her pills and about her being nervous wondering whether I wanted the child or not … and deep down I probably did. But I didn`t want to focus on it.

_Sookie and I were going to be parents_. I wanted to do cartwheels up and down the aisle but instead I just sat there grinning like a fool.

Was I going to tell Sookie the truth? No fucking way! What good would that do? Sookie would know that she hadn`t forgotten to take her pills, that her memory was not as bad as she thought, but she would also know that ….

No, I was never going to tell her. And if I didn`t tell her – how would she know? The burden of my deception was one I needed to carry all alone.

I`d already booked the ticket to New York when Sookie told me I was going to be a father. To be truthful – I`d done it because I was afraid of what Sookie would do if she found out she was pregnant after she`d gone home. She`d spent almost three months with me. I had messed up with her pills quite a lot towards the end of her stay and it wasn`t until she`d left that I`d given it a second thought. And a third.

What if she didn`t want a child? What if she didn`t want … me?

I was thrilled she`d told me as soon as she`d found out she was pregnant. I`d been so worried that she might be pregnant and decided to bring up the child alone. Or that she ….

I definitely was a bastard and I`d felt bad when Sookie had blamed herself for her pregnancy. But now I was on my way to see her and I couldn`t stop myself from smiling. Sookie had that special spark that I couldn`t get enough of. Even Bill`s beating her up hadn`t killed it. She`d become a little sadder, perhaps, and she`d held back at first, but that was part of her too.

For the first time in my life I`d liked a woman for what she was, not just for what she could do for me or for how great she was in bed. During our summer together I`d come to realize that Sookie was the woman I wanted to spend my life with. My entire life.

And now she was going to be the mother of my child. Could life be any more perfect? I scratched my head. There was the little detail concerning where we were going to live, of course.

To be honest – I wanted Sookie to come live with me. She was an author and could live anywhere. She didn`t have much family and seemed to have few friends. If she moved in with me I would get paternity leave. I wouldn`t get that if I moved to New York.

I would play my cards safely, though. The most important thing would be for us to be together and if that meant I had to move to New York ….

No, I didn`t like the thought. From the moment Sookie told me about the pregnancy, I began visualizing my kid having the same upbringing I`d had. Not a kid growing up in a New York apartment and my walking around with a stroller in Central Park.

So after having manipulated a pregnancy on Sookie I knew I now had to manipulate her into accepting a move back home with me. It was all for the greater good – or so I told myself. I knew it was for _my_ greater good but since I couldn`t see any harm for Sookie, apart from the fact that she would have to learn a new language, then why not?

I tapped my fingers lightly on the little box in my jeans pocket and looked forward to seeing Sookie again.

I saw her before she noticed me – which is incredible with my almost two meters towering over all the other passengers making their way through customs.

My heart did a little flip-flop at the sight of her and though I knew she wasn`t pregnant enough for anyone to notice, my heart did another flip-flop at the sight of her stomach. In there was Sookie`s and my future.

She turned her attention in my direction and her face lit up in a smile. I threw my bag on the floor and opened my arms and was thrilled when she jumped into them. Lifting her up and sniffing deeply into her hair – it was like coming home.

Sookie was my family. The little kid was my family. Since my parents had died I`d felt rootless. I was like a ship with no sails and now that was gone. I`d dropped my anchor when I met Sookie. I shook my head at my own mental metaphors.

I let Sookie get back down on her feet and knelt down. I`d planned on asking her at some fancy restaurant, making it all romantic. But I knew I couldn`t wait. This was why my very first words to her were:

"Will you marry me?"

Belatedly I pulled out the little box I`d carried all the way from home and opened it for her. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed people staring but I couldn`t care less. I wanted my grandmother`s ring on Sookie`s finger and I wanted it there now.

I wasn`t sure what I had expected. For her to throw herself into my arms. Tears of joy. That she would faint into my arms. Some romantic stuff. And I knew that I had expected her to say yes – even if it was only with a whisper or a nod because she couldn`t speak.

"Eric …." she started.

It took me several seconds to realize that she wasn`t saying, "Eric, I love you so much," or, "Eric – of course, I`ll marry you."

She was rejecting me.

I got up very quickly, grabbed my backpack and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. The people staring at me were suddenly something I wanted to get away from.

"Eric … " Sookie said again, her voice softer. Soothing. She came up behind me.

"Let`s get out of here," I said and grabbed her hand.

"Eric!" Now her voice was hard, in command.

If I hadn`t been one huge chaotic mess inside I would probably have smiled at the three very different ways she had said my name.

"Yes," I said without looking at her or slowing down. "That`s my name."

"Stop!" She pulled hard on my hand. "I`m not saying that I don`t want you. It`s just … marriage. Is that necessary?"

I swallowed. Necessary? Of course marriage wasn`t necessary. Half my countrymen had kids without getting married and most of my male friends would avoid marriage talk like the bubonic plague. Hell, some of my female friends would too. I was being romantic and got shut down.

"No, of course it isn`t necessary," I said between gritted teeth. "We can just fuck around as we please."

Now it was Sookie`s turn to walk past me and she did not grab my hand to pull me with her. She stalked towards the taxis and if my legs hadn`t been twice as long as hers, she would probably have driven off without me.

I got into the taxi Sookie had picked and looked straight ahead when she gave her address to the driver. This wasn`t the way I had pictured our reunion. This wasn`t the way I had pictured anything.

We didn`t speak until after she closed the door to her apartment. With me inside, luckily.

"Stop this, Eric," she said. "Remember what happened when you were here at Easter time?"

I deflated like a balloon. I remembered Easter.

"So why are you so against our marrying?" I asked, trying to keep my anger and disappointment out of my voice.

"I just had a nasty divorce, Eric."

She almost rolled her eyes at me and I certainly rolled my eyes at myself. Inwardly, at least. It wasn`t that she didn`t want me. It was the mental scars Bill had given her that had made her act the way she did.

I took her hand and pulled her towards the couch and beckoned her to sit down. Then I sat down next to her.

"I`m not Bill," I said.

A tiny smile curled her lips. "I know."

"I love you," I continued.

"I know that too." She looked at our hands – together, the way they were supposed to be.

"There`s also the practical side to it," I said when she just kept looking at our hands. "One of us needs a permanent visa to the other one`s country and marriage seems to be the way to get it."

Her gaze moved slowly from our hands to my face.

"Yeah, there`s that," she said.

"I want to be close to the kid," I explained. "And you, of course. I don`t want the two of you to live in a different country from me."

"So you want us to move in together?"

I grinned. "That`s usually what a proposal means."

"But where? Would you want to move to New York?" she asked and I nodded.

"If you want us to live here, I`ll live here. It`s not important. As long as we`re together."

I was a lying bastard but I was not going to tip the boat by saying I wanted us to live in my country.

"What would you do here?"

"I`m sure they need nurses in New York as well. I`ll find a job and if I need to take courses to be approved as a nurse here, I`ll take those courses. If I can`t be a nurse, I could always drive a taxi or work at a store."

"But you love being a nurse."

"I love you more." Now that was the truth but I said it because I hoped it would soften her towards moving back with me. After all, that would be easier. Well, maybe not for her, but it would be better for the kid. And me.

The kiss she gave me told me she was considering the option I wanted all along. The kiss also told me it had been way too long since we`d had sex and soon it went from romantic to needy and hungry. I wanted Sookie in all the meanings of the word.

"I want to stay at home with the kid," I said out of the blue when we were eating breakfast in bed the next morning. Sookie was morningsick and I`d made us the breakfast – after having promised her not to make anything that had any strong smells. Well, apart from coffee. Apparently she couldn`t live without her morning cup.

We ate toast with butter and drank coffee and though it was a fairly boring breakfast, I loved every bite of it.

She turned to look at me. "For how long?"

I smiled. Now I could tell her about the fantastic paternity leave rules back home. "As long as I can. If we have the baby in my country, I could be home for almost a year." I pretended to be shocked at my own statement. "Not that I was suggesting that we move, of course. It`s just that it`s a pretty good deal. The state actively encourages fathers to stay at home and I would have 80% of my wages all those months." I smiled. "You could write and I could look after the kid. Then you could nurse it when needed and go back to writing."

Sookie took a big bite of her toast, chewed it and swallowed it.

"You could still be home with the kid here."

"Oh, sure, but I wouldn`t have any money."

"I have money." Sookie took another bite of her toast.

I nodded. "You do."

"But you don`t want to live off me." It was not a question.

"I would prefer not to." Especially if the alternative was living back home and earning my own money – or rather, getting paternity leave money. "I could sell my apartment, of course, and live off the money."

"You could." Sookie`s voice didn`t sound too sure – to my utter delight.

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence and took a stroll out into the sun. It was a hot day so we only took a short walk but it was a nice feeling to walk hand in hand with her, knowing that I would soon be bringing my future wife and child home with me.

Later that afternoon Sookie was scheduled to see her physician and I was going to accompany her. We took the subway there and once again, I enjoyed the feeling of walking next to Sookie, knowing this was not just some temporary thing.

"So this is the father?" It was the first thing the doctor said when he saw me.

I shook his hand. "The proud father – that`s me."

"Pleased to meet you," the doctor said in a neutral voice but I felt his scrutinizing eyes on me. I almost started feeling guilty about Sookie`s pills but how would he know about them? I gave him a smile.

Not that I cared what he thought of me. I did care what Sookie thought of me, though – and I wanted her home with me as quickly as possible. The doctor might just be the person to help me out there.

"It came as a surprise," I started. "The pregnancy," I explained when he gave me a questioning look. "But I couldn`t be happier. I mean, I love Sookie and I would love nothing more than to start a family with her."

Sookie`s doctor gave me one of those professional smiles.

"It seems you`ve started the family already," he said in a dry voice.

I laughed a little at his silly joke. "Indeed we have. And we don`t even live together." I paused. "Yet." I squeezed Sookie`s hand.

"It`s hard to be a family with an ocean between you," the doctor said while directing Sookie to lie back on the examining table.

"We`ll figure it out," Sookie said.

I moved closer to Sookie and held on to her hand.

"You wouldn`t happen to know whether nurses with diplomas from other countries can work here?" I asked, hoping he would give me a discouraging answer.

"You`re a nurse?" he asked. I nodded. "It all depends on whether your education is classified as "registered nurse". I know there are special rules for nurses from Canada, but I`m not sure how the rules are for nurses from your country. You may have to take some additional courses or redo some of your exams. Of course, some hospitals might have a problem with your education anyway. Most of them prefer people with educations from schools they are familiar with."

"Oh. I tried to sound disappointed and then glossed over it. "But I`m sure it`ll work out somehow." I gave Sookie a smile.

Sookie`s doctor looked at her. "But you`re an author, aren`t you?" he asked. "You could work anywhere."

I wanted to kiss the doctor right then and there but chose to kiss Sookie`s hand instead. I noticed her lips getting tight, but then she nodded. She freaking nodded. Not much but enough for me to notice.

"I could," she said. Then she let the hand I wasn`t holding glide over her stomach. "I was hoping Eric could hear the heartbeat."

"You know that it`s still early," the doctor said. "I can`t guarantee anything so I don`t want you to worry if we aren`t able to hear the baby."

I was still smiling from Sookie`s nod and wasn`t paying much attention to the white instrument the doctor pulled out. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him set a few buttons on a computer. Then he let the instrument glide over Sookie`s stomach and I began to hear strange sounds.

First it sounded like a microphone being stuck into deep water but then suddenly I heard it. A heartbeat. I heard the heart of my kid. My little baby inside Sookie`s stomach.

A tear ran down my cheek and I wasn`t ashamed of it. That sound was the most amazing sound I`d ever heard and I couldn`t get enough of it.

I heard Sookie laughing and saw her beautiful blue eyes looking at me. I just had to bend over and give her a kiss. My entire future was in those eyes. And in that stomach.

"I`ll marry you," she whispered when I broke the kiss.

That made me kiss her even harder. Now I only needed Sookie to come home with me and everything would be perfect.

**A/N:**

I feel the need to stress two things here:

**1,** I still don`t condone what Eric has done even if I have him manipulating Sookie some more. I write him as I see him in this story – a man with flaws. Yes, it`s inexcusable to trick someone you love like Eric has tricked Sookie but that doesn`t mean that it doesn`t happen every day. I wanted to keep this story "real" by describing a relationship with no perfect heroes but where there is still love.

**2,** I like Eric very much even if I choose to write him with flaws. There`s a fine line here between excusing what he`s done (which I won`t) and hating him for it (which I don`t).

**On paternity leave:** We`re having a very interesting debate here in Norway. The rules are that the parents get almost a year off from work (a little less if it`s on full pay and a little more if they choose to get 80%). 9 weeks are for the mother just after she`s given birth and 10 weeks are for the father and can be used whenever he wants to. The rest is to be divided between the two as they see fit. Usually the mother takes most of it but lately there`s been a huge call from fathers who want more time with their babies and suggestions have been made that they should have at least 1/3 of the time home and not just the 10 weeks. I know there have been similar debates in Sweden. So Eric is not so far off wanting a long paternity leave – he`s Scandinavian, after all.

On a personal note: My husband and I shared our time at home by having me home full time the first six months. The rest of the time at home with the baby we shared by staying at home every second day and going to work the other days. It was perfect, really, because then you got the best of both worlds. Both of us got to be with our little baby and both of us got to be at work. Perfect, really

I hope you enjoyed the chapter in spite of Eric`s manipulations (or I will send him home to manipulate you into loving it!)


	15. Chapter 15

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 15**

**A/N:**

Thank you so much for your reviews. I really wish I`d replied to all of them but I`ve been away most of the week and figured I would much rather just post the next chapter.

This chapter is a shorty, but the one after this will be up shortly too.

I want to thank **Suki59** for betaing this chapter. And for those of you waiting for Dead without a Work Permit – she just started betaing that one too!

**SPOV**

I had not expected that reaction from Eric and truth be told – it unnerved me a bit. I told myself it was everything Bill had done to me that made me suspicious towards men in general and that Eric shouldn`t suffer from that, but I had all kinds of alarm bells going off inside me.

It might be all the changes to my life. A year ago I was happily (well, happy-ish-ly) married to Bill and now I was a recovering victim, pregnant with Eric`s child and on my way to getting married too.

No wonder I kept asking myself, "When did this happen?"

"What are the rules on marriage here in New York? Can we do it right away?" Eric asked. I got an instant case of cold feet.

Not that I didn`t want to marry Eric. But things were going too fast.

I wished I could press a button on my stomach and stop the baby from growing – and then have it start growing again a year from now. Of course, then I would have to stop aging too. I felt old already.

Since I hadn`t been able to give Eric any good answers on his marriage related questions, he was now hunched over my computer, googling rules and regulations.

"We could go to Las Vegas," he said with a grin.

I shook my head. "We have time, Eric. There`s no rush."

"It`s just … I want us to be married right away."

Most women would find it cute and adorable that their husband-to-be was in a hurry to tie the knot. I was apparently not "most women." I sighed.

"I`m not going to run out on you, Eric." I meant it as a joke but it didn`t come out that way.

Eric got up and came over to me. Soon I was engulfed in his long arms and pressed into his chest.

"I hope not," he whispered into my hair.

"We should go to City Hall today," Eric said the next morning when we were lying next to each other in my bed.

City Hall meant marriage license.

"We should," I said, though I was in no hurry. When we`d obtained the marriage license we had to get married within 60 days. And we could get married after 24 hours. I kept the sigh to myself and smiled instead.

Eric gave me a kiss and the kiss soon turned into more. My morning sickness wasn`t so bad when Eric was around. He had his very special way of making me think of things other than throwing up.

Afterwards he pulled me close and let his hand rest on my stomach. Moments like this made me wonder why I was stalling. Why I wasn`t just marrying Eric and moving back home with him. It would be for the best what with Eric getting that paternity leave he wanted so badly. And after all, I could write my books anywhere.

It was just … I didn`t want to.

"We could get married at your consulate," I said feeling bad about being the one dragging my feet so much.

Eric pulled me closer. "I like the idea, Sookie." The way he said it made me realize that he`d already thought of it.

"Yeah, that way both you and I could get married in our home country. Well, sort of, at least."

Eric`s lips were on mine.

"I love the way you are thinking, Sookie. If we pick up the marriage license today we could get married tomorrow."

I pulled back. "Can you just go there and get married? Don`t you have to book a time or …?"

"Umm," Eric said. "It`ll be fine."

Eric and I got out of bed and went to take a shower. Showering with Eric was definitely in my top 10 of things to do with him. Probably in my top 3 too. Eric made sure I was thoroughly clean and I did the same for him. He also massaged out some knots in my shoulders which made me soften both physically and mentally.

I almost told him I would move back home him but held back at the last moment. I`d just accepted I was getting married the next day. I suppose that was all the yielding I could muster for one morning.

"Are you ready to become a married woman?" Eric asked when we were walking out the door. His lips were smiling but his eyes looked more serious.

"No," I said with a smile. "But I`m not sure I ever will be."

"I could persuade you some more," Eric said with a wink.

"How? Torture?" I let my hand glide over his butt.

"Hmmm, maybe I should try that." He grabbed my hand and we walked out the door. "I haf my vayz. I vill torture you until you say `I do.`"

I laughed at the Germanic accent and the face he made.

If I were looking for a man with humor, Eric was certainly the right choice. So was he if I were looking for someone sweet and gentle, someone sexy and someone clever. My problem was that I hadn`t been looking for anyone.

I loved Eric – I knew that – and I was going to marry him. I tried to tell myself that it was a good choice – the right choice – and I knew it was. But it would have been an even better choice if I could have postponed it a bit. Like five years or so.

I pinched Eric`s behind. "Let`s get those papers that will make that butt mine until death do us part."

"My ass is yours already, Sookie."

And with that we went to City Hall.

**A/N:**

A shorty, but that was how it fit the story. Next chapter will be just around the corner


	16. Chapter 16

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - Chapter 16**

**A/N:**

Thank you so much for your reviews. I really appreciate you taking the time to write them.

I also want to thank **Suki59** for betaing this on top of betaing both Dead without a Work Permit and a new multi-chapter story I`ve just started out (about my favorite topic: Vikings :-D). She is busybusybusy. Hopefully I`m not keeping her away from writing her own stories because I love them very much!

**EPOV**

I am no romantic but I did get Sookie quite a nice bouquet of flowers for our wedding. She looked stunning as usual. No, she looked even more amazing that usual. She`d put on a nice summer dress that wasn`t alltogether white, since it had little flowers all over, but it was white and long enough to be a very beautiful wedding gown. She made a twirl on the floor of her living room.

I was wearing a suit. It wasn`t just any suit but a smart suit I`d bought especially for the occasion. I`d brought it with me just as I`d brought rings, hoping that Sookie would say yes to me. Well, expecting it, really.

Not that Sookie was a doormat who would do anything I told her to. But I supposed she loved me enough to accept my proposal. And of course the child she was carrying helped sway her.

I knew it wasn`t easy for Sookie to say yes to me. I wasn`t an entire brute who neglected her emotions. She`d recently come out of a very bad marriage that had ended in the worst way possible. Saying yes to me was quite a step.

If I could have given Sookie some more time, I would have. She didn`t deserve to be rushed like this. Not so soon after her divorce from Bill. But I was afraid of losing Sookie if I hadn`t tied her to me with the baby and now the marriage. I would make her happy. And when we were married and she`d moved in with me, I would never manipulate her again.

Because that was what I`d done to her. Manipulated her. She should have had a choice. I was just so afraid of giving it to her.

And now we were getting married.

I was thrilled to see her look so radiant and … happy. Yes, she looked happy. But I knew I was pushing her. Pushing her too much, possibly.

It was just … how could I not? How could I let her walk out of my life? Which she could have – would have, maybe – if she hadn`t been pregnant.

Looking at her, though, I couldn`t regret what I`d done. She was to be my wife, the mother of my child and I would be a very happy man with her – I was sure of it.

"You look amazing, Mrs. Northman," I said and gave her a kiss.

She pulled back. "Umm, I hadn`t planned on changing my name." Her voice was stern.

I laughed. "It was only a manner of speaking. Most women don`t change their last names when they marry. Not where I come from at least. Actually it`s become quite fashionable for the man to take his wife`s last name." I bent down and whispered. "How does Eric Stackhouse sound?"

Sookie laughed and I loved hearing that laughter.

"I like it."

"Well, if you want me to change my name, I`ll do it." I took her hand and we walked towards the door.

"Really?" she asked with a smile on her lips. She clearly didn`t believe me.

"Of course." It would be a small price to pay if it made her feel that I was sacrificing something too. Maybe it would make her agree to move.

"And our child would be a Stackhouse too?"

"Sure."

The smile on Sookie`s lips went from disbelieving to – well, I would say loving. Now, Sookie would never be one to stare at me with admiration every time I burped or farted – which was a good thing because I`d had way too many women in my life who did just that. But it was nice to see that I could do something she appreciated.

And I found that I wanted to do stuff she appreciated. Not to be appreciated but because I wanted her happy.

She checked her watch. "We`ll need to go if we want to make it in time."

I smiled. "I love you, Sookie," I said.

She gave my hand a squeeze. "I love you too, Mr. Stackhouse."

And with that we were out the door.

I didn`t end up changing my name but I did get Sookie to move across the Atlantic.

She wasn`t on the plane right now because of stupid visa laws but she`d ended up applying for a permanent visa at the consulate right after we got married. She would have to wait for the answer from Immigration before she could join me, which had seriously pissed me off, but at least she was coming.

I was a married man, a soon-to-be father and sporting a grin larger than the one I`d worn on my way over to visit Sookie. I knew I should try and sleep on my way back to avoid jetlag but I was so pleased with what had happened in New York, there was no way I could go off to visit Dreamland. Why would one want to dream when real life was so much better?

I picked up the paper the flight attendant had offered me. The great thing about flying SAS – Scandinavian Airline System – was getting papers from home. There was something I needed to check out. Now. I barely read the news about prime ministers making promises and the opposition claiming promises would never be held. Or was it the other way around?

It was the "Houses for Sale" pages I needed. Because I was buying a house. I did a quick scan and then I read the four adds that had seemed interesting, more thoroughly. They were all a bit more expensive than what I had inherited from my parents, but I would do what everyone else did – take a loan. And I expected that my apartment would bring in a few kroner too.

But I would get Sookie and our kid the best house money could buy. Well, the best house _my_ money could buy, at least.

It took almost three months before Sookie was on a plane going east. Three nerve-wracking months where I wanted to go down to Immigration each and every day and punch someone. Or at least to ask them to hurry up.

I`d been so nervous that Sookie wouldn`t get the visa before our child was born. And when I found out that the airlines wouldn`t let anyone who was more than seven months pregnant on their planes, I`d practically bitten my nails all the way down to my knuckles.

Sookie and I had talked almost every day and I`d seen her stomach grow and had been shown the ultrasounds. We`d even done our special skype-thing but though I`d gotten off on it, it had been way too long since I`d felt her skin on mine and her breath on my neck.

Today waiting was over – Sookie would land at the airport around noon and I would be picking her up. And the best thing was – I would be able to show her our new home. A home I hadn`t told her about.

I was exhausted from spackling and painting and buying and moving furniture but I wanted everything to be perfect for her arrival. I`d had some help from a couple of friends but mainly I`d done everything myself. That included installing a brand new kitchen. A kitchen where Sookie and I could cook together.

Yeah, I`d tried to learn how to cook too. Not that I had cooked that much – it`s no fun when you`re alone. But I had ditched that frozen pizza for good.

I`d also started cleaning my house. Sookie would not find any dust bunnies. Or dirty laundry on the floor. I was so fucking proud of how I`d changed and I was looking forward to her seeing it.

I`d dragged her into motherhood and marriage but I was dead set on her never regretting it.

I checked the schedule for arriving planes again. "Bags on belt," it said about Sookie`s plane. It should have said, "Wife arriving."

**A/N:**

The next chapter will actually be the last one which is a bit sad for me. I like writing this story because it`s been interesting trying to combine how I see Eric and Sookie with things happening to me or to people around me in real life. Yes, I have friends who`ve tricked their lovers into having children with them. It`s horrible and for some it didn`t end well. But for some, and that would be the ones where the lover never found out they`d been tricked, it ended with happy marriages. That still doesn`t excuse what they did and I`m not trying to excuse it by making Eric do it and actually end up marrying Sookie. But I don`t believe in karma or the world being a just place. Sometimes people win by cheating.

**On changing names when marrying**: It`s become fairly common here for men to take their wives` names. I read somewhere that the most important reason for people to change their last names when marrying is wanting to get rid of "boring" last names. Olsen, Hansen, Jensen, Johansen etc – or –sen names as we call them – are not very popular so people will often give up a –sen name if they marry someone with a last name that doesn`t end with –sen. So if Hanne Hansen marries Jens Østgård, she will be more likely to change her name than if she married Jens Jensen. The same goes if Jens Jensen is marrying Hanne Østgård. He will be more likely to take her name than if she was called Hanne Hansen.

Of course, most couples don`t change their last names at all here. Mainly because they don`t get married at all but even married couples usually keep their own names.


	17. Chapter 17

**Dust Bunnies and Christmas Presents - CHAPTER 17**

**A/N:**

*Sniff* This is the final chapter to the tale of Scandinavian Eric and American Sookie. I`m so very grateful to all of you for reading and for all the amazing reviews this story has received.

I`m also very grateful to Suki59 for going through this with her fine tooth comb. She is a great beta!

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**SPOV**

I was exhausted when I finally picked my suitcases from the conveyor belt. It had been a long flight, I was pregnant – and very much so – but what really made me want to crawl into a stall at the airport bathroom and stay there, was the big decision I`d made.

I`d packed everything in my apartment and either stuffed it into one of the three suitcases I was carrying or shipped. Well, I wasn`t carrying my suitcases as much as laying all my – now considerable – weight behind the cart I`d retrieved and pushing them forward.

Forward to meet Eric.

I knew I was doing the right thing. I loved Eric and love conquers all, right?

But I`d loved Bill too – that was what that nagging little voice kept saying. I`d loved Bill and he`d ended up betraying me and then beating me up.

I stroked my stomach.

And now I was having a child and moving to a strange country and into the life of a new man. A man I loved, yes, but also a man I hardly knew.

I took a deep breath and rolled all my suitcases and knick knacks out through customs and to the man waiting outside.

Eric practically jumped me when he saw me. He lifted me up and hugged me so close I was afraid my water would break. And then he lifted me even higher and said "Hi," to the baby.

He let me slide a little down in his arms and gave me a deep kiss. After the kiss he snuggled into my neck.

"I`ve missed you so much, Sookie."

He didn`t let me down on my own two feet until someone coughed behind me. We`d created a huge line of people who wanted to get out of customs to their own lives, their own lovers, their own … decisions.

We had an awkward moment where Eric didn`t take over the cart and I certainly wasn`t expecting to push it – Scandinavian men in a nutshell, I presumed – and then I was walking next to him and my three suitcases to my new home country.

"I only packed my clothes, some personal belongings and a few books," I said, nodding at the suitcases. "The rest will come later."

I wondered how I was going to cram everything into Eric`s tiny apartment but hoped we`d managed to buy a larger one before the baby arrived. Our housing situation was something we hadn`t discussed. Actually we hadn`t discussed much of our future apart from when I was going to come and at what time Eric would pick me up.

"Great," Eric said but I could probably have told him I`d burned everything and he would have given me the same reply. His mind was elsewhere.

We got in the car and I may have dozed off because when the car stopped we weren`t at Eric`s apartment but outside a red brick house. I wiped off the drool from my chin (yes, I may have been in deep sleep – I was pregnant, sue me) and looked at Eric.

First I didn`t understand the Cheshire cat smile on his face but then it dawned on me.

"Why are we here, Eric?" My voice was a bit angrier than I`d intended.

"Come in and see it," he said.

"You arranged for us to look at houses the day I landed?" I asked though I knew this was not the case.

"No, Sookie," Eric grinned. Eric was 13 years younger than I but right now he looked like a little kid. And I probably looked like his angry old aunt.

He pulled me out of the car and inside the house. It was a lovely house but I could not see it. I was tired and I was mad. How could he have bought a house without me? Decided on such an important part of our future without involving me?

He opened the door and I could smell the paint and see all the new furniture. It looked amazing and would probably be a perfect home for us.

"What the hell did you do, Eric?" I asked.

I felt like a wet blanket, a spoil sport and a really mean person because Eric was so happy and that made me even angrier. How dare he spring this house on me and make me feel like I was wrong for wanting to have a say in where we were going to live?

I could see the hurt in his eyes and that made me feel even crueler.

"I bought this house for us. I spent all my time …. " he started.

"Without me?" I asked.

"Well, of course. You were …," and then his face turned from hurt to angry. "You`re pregnant, Sookie. I wanted to surprise you. To make it perfect for you."

We stared at each other, neither of us wanting to back down. Then he turned on his heels and left.

He left me all alone in a strange country, in a house I`d never been in before, tired and miserable and regretting everything.

I opened my suitcase, pulled out my toothbrush, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I did not have the energy to deal with Eric`s anger. Or my own.

It was dark when I woke up. I went to the bathroom – one has to go every two hours when one has a baby pressing on the bladder – and then I located the kitchen. It was a very beautiful, and clearly new, kitchen. But I didn`t want to admire it too much. I just wanted a cup of coffee. Strong coffee.

I brought my cup into the living room, found myself a nice chair and sat down. Just as I`d had my first sip of coffee, I heard the door opening. Eric came into the living room.

He sat down on the couch.

"There`s coffee in the kitchen," I said.

Eric smiled a little and got up. He came back with a mug in his hand.

We sat for a very long time, the only sounds were us blowing on our coffee and sipping it.

"Are you hungry?" Eric asked.

I looked at him. "I am, actually."

"I`ve prepared dinner, believe it or not. I just need to heat it up."

Half an hour later Eric had set the table and brought in a lovely lasagna and some salad. He poured me a glass of milk.

I laughed. "Milk?"

Eric blushed a little. "Well, yes. You can`t have wine and … I like milk."

"So that`s how you grew so tall?" I teased.

"Yes, that`s me. A poster boy for milk."

We were quiet for a little while. Then I took a deep breath.

"Eric," I said. "You can`t make big decisions like that without including me."

Eric looked down. Actually he seemed to take it much harder than I`d expected him to.

"It`s a lovely house, Eric," I continued when he didn't say anything. "But I wanted to have picked it with you. And paid for half of it."

Eric looked up.

"You`ve had a lot of things happening to you lately, Sookie," he said. "You`ve had to adapt to so much. I just wanted to …." He stopped talking.

I glanced at him and then I nodded for him to continue.

"I will include you in important decisions in the future," he said after awhile. "I promise."

I smiled. Eric would not say he was sorry. I knew him too well for that. But this was close enough.

"Thank you." I leaned back in my chair. The baby took up a lot of space. "It is a lovely house."

That made Eric grin. "I think so."

"Maybe we should christen this house properly?" I batted my eyes exaggeratedly.

Eric had to heat up the lasagna again before we`d christened the whole house. And afterwards, when I was in his arms that night, having whispered how much I loved him and had "I love yous" whispered back at me, I knew I had made the right choice.

If people had asked me if I wanted to have a baby with a man who lived across the ocean, who was so much younger than I was and – most importantly – a man I hardly knew, I would have laughed at them.

But I figured I hadn`t made that bad a choice when I`d married Eric. I was expecting a child I had never thought I would have and since Eric was so young, it would only be fair that he got up every night when the baby cried, wouldn`t it?

I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.

The End

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**A/N:**

I hope you enjoyed this tale. I`m a bit sad to let it go but all things must come to an end.

That doesn`t mean that I`ve stopped posting stories. **Dead without a Work Permit** is still active and I`ve just finished writing a one-shot called **Eric the Viking**. Sookie reads one of her favorite romance novels and suddenly her hero – the sexy Viking she is reading about – jumps out of her book and into her living room. Is everything like in the romance novels? This story will be more humor than romance and I will hopefully post it in the near future.

I`m also working on a multi-chapter story about **Sookie the Shieldmaiden** – a fierce Viking warrior – and how she sets sail on Sam Dogbreath`s ship, only to meet another blond warrior – Eric the Northman.

Does anyone see a pattern here? *blushes* Yes, I have a thing for the Viking age.


End file.
